Blood Lust
by cryinginsideout
Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.
1. The Beginning of the Tale

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!, although it would be cool if I did.**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Tale**

**{_Edit 08.14.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: } **

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><p>The newspaper headline glared at a pink-haired girl from inside a little metal vending machine: <em>Seiyo under mysterious attack – death toll rises once more<em>. It had been a while since the fourteen-year-old had laid her eyes on a newspaper. In fact, there were hardly any more newspapers lying around nowadays. The moon glistened way up ahead, and she noticed the black and white rectangular picture to the left of the article. It showed two police cars, a few caution tapes, and three police men standing about.

The girl snorted and was about to turn away when three words caught her attention: _victim survives attack_. Fists were clenched, then shoved through the newspaper vending machine, the force so strong that the glass shattered in no time. The rosette sucked in a breath and brushed away a few of the twinkling glasses stuck in her knuckles before picking up a fresh copy. She realized that it probably would've been less messy if she had fed the machine a few coins instead, but come to think of it, she wasn't carrying any spare change at the moment. The dark eerie night made it hard to read, but with the moonlight shining, it was better than having no light source at all.

"What do you have there, Amu?"

Amu dropped the newspaper, startled, and whirled around to face her best friend Mashiro Rima. Her wheat, bouncy curls fell around her waist line quite messily, but on her it looked like a fashionable hairdo. Her pale skin seemed to sparkle under the moonlight, and her pale red eyes from earlier seemed to have been replaced with a warm amber tone.

"N-nothing. It's nothing. Are you finished?" She pushed a lock of her bright pink hair behind her ear and nervously fidgeted with the hem of her navy blue skirt.

"Mm, not quite. I still want to have one more for tonight." Rima murmured and dusted her sky blue cardigan free from any dust or whatnot.

"Sure. Let's go someplace else. This place sort of gives me the creeps." Amu whispered the last part more to herself than sharing the thought out loud. Rima either didn't hear what she had said (which was unlikely, with their supersonic hearing), or didn't say anything and nodded once.

The two girls ran through the open village streets to see if there were any signs of anyone that had been here. With their vampire speed, they made it to their desired location in about 30 seconds when normally it would take 20 minutes to walk 3 huge blocks for a mundane.

"You look like you could use a few drinks too, Amu." Rima took note of her comrade's dying honey eyes. Amu gulped, but nodded. Now that she had mentioned it, Amu was a bit thirsty. She only had three people this evening while Rima had around five. Amu decided that she should take advantage of being able to go hunting tonight since their leader wasn't going to let them out for about another three days.

"Listen," Amu whispered to Rima, and her eyes immediately seemed to brighten up. The rosette noticed a smirk curl upon the blonde's face as they heard a few faint cries of yelling. Two females, three male. Rima seemed to be thinking what Amu was thinking, because as soon as Amu dashed towards the noises following her sound instincts, Rima was already right next to her, their paces even.

Rima was a few months older than Amu although they were both newborns. Rima had been a vampire for about seven months while Amu was practically a baby, having only changed three months ago. Although a seven month, Rima was still pretty fast. Younger newborns were to have better instincts and were supposedly faster than older newborns. Rima seemed to prove this wrong. So did their leader: Hoshina Utau.

The confident leader was a fifteenth month, so calling her a newborn would not be the correct term. In fact, it should be no surprise that Utau had the strength and energy of a newborn; she is a leader after all, and in order to be an efficient leader, you had to have everything ranging from skills to smarts to power.

When Amu had first lived under her rule, Rima made sure to tell her all the kinks and quirks about Utau. The ruler apparently has a thing for seducing guys and tricking them into sleeping with her, but as soon as she got what she wanted, she would just discard them by drinking their blood, never taking pity on any. Even male vampires fall for her trick every now and then.

According to vampire legend, it says that Hoshina Utau is the sister of Tsukiyomi Ikuto. In the past, there was a story almost similar to _Romeo and Juliet_; two star-crossed lovers, one from each clan. Words, shouts, tears, and reluctance was exchanged until the Hoshina clan and the Tsukiyomi clan finally agreed to merge into one to form and take the name Tsukiyomi. However, something drastic had happened and the two clans had split once again. Each clan then swore that they were to be nothing more but enemies.

In the midst of all that, Ikuto and Utau were born. However, when the two clans separated, so did Utau and Ikuto. Now, each sibling rules one clan. Although enemies on the surface, Amu knew that deep down Utau and Ikuto still held onto a thin grip of the love they had for each other from when they were young.

"Amu!"

The newborn shook away her thoughts and turned around to find out that Rima had already knocked out the five victims.

"What were you thinking about? Tsukiyomi? I bet you secretly love him!" Rima teased her a bit, and the Hinamori rolled her eyes. Her partner in crime seemed to be obsessed with teasing her about Tsukiyomi Ikuto, even though she had no idea how the thought of her and Ikuto being 'lovers' even surfaced.

"Don't be stupid," Amu sighed and knelt down beside one of the males who were knocked out. She wrinkled her nose in disgust once she realized he smelt like cigarettes and alcohol.

"They aren't pure," Amu commented, but Rima was already gulping down large amounts of blood from a bald man. She watched her comrade swallow the blood greedily and noted that the man seemed to be "drying up," if that was the correct term. She eventually snapped her head back and tried to catch her breath.

"Slow down, will you?" Amu giggled a bit and Rima just grinned cheekily at her, fangs and all included.

"They aren't pure, but at least we have something to snack on you know?" She licked the extra blood around her mouth clean before throwing the dried up body onto the floor.

"Don't kill the girls. I think the guys were going to assault them. And if they end up dead and missing, someone will notice for sure. They're wearing Seiyo High School's uniform, so I'm assuming they have a family waiting for them at home."

Amu nodded and picked up one of the men by their collars. Taking a deep breath, she buried her head into the nape of his neck before opening her mouth wide. Fangs punctured his skin, and the newborn was greeted by glorious amounts of blood. It was rich and sweet, and she couldn't help but savor it in her mouth, letting the cool liquid slide down her burning throat and satisfy her lust. She could just imagine her eyes turning into a warm shade of honey. Amu ignored the tastes of ecstasy and beer and continued to gulp down whatever was left.

"Amu. We should get back."

Feeling more energized, Amu opened her eyes and slowly pulled back, quite sad that she had already finished drinking his heavenly blood.

"You already drank everything else?" Amu licked her mouth clean before asking and stood up from her crouch. Rima readjusted her black ribbon headband on top of her hair and nodded.

"You took too long. But you can have the next two when we go out again next time."

Amu nodded and they gathered up as much saliva as they could before spitting them onto the dead bodies. She pulled out her red lighter from her black trench coat before igniting it and throwing it onto the bodies; Rima did the same. They watched the flames grow bigger and bigger before all the bodies were burning and smoke was rising way up into the starry sky.

"We should head back. We're gonna be dead if we're late." Rima spoke as she snapped her orange phone shut after glancing at the clock. Amu sighed before nodding in agreement. They then fled from the burning scene and dashed back to the abandoned hotel where the rest of Utau's tribe was hiding at. All while on the way home, Amu kept wondering what tomorrow's newspaper would hypothesize about the mess she and Rima had created.

_My name is Hinamori Amu. I am a three month newborn and I honestly don't remember how I got turned into a vampire. When I was awakened, everything was so fuzzy, including my eyesight, hearing, and memories. My throat carried the most painful burn, and my teeth ached. I remembered it hurt like hell, like someone had slit my throat and knocked my teeth out before leaving me there to die. I remember dry heaving and warm tears running down my face. But what I remembered the most throughout the pain was the hand that cupped my face and cradled my body as my throat burned and itched. _

_"Gomen. I need you to survive by all means," a voice whispered into my ear as my mouth opened on its own. Breaths gasped out, and it felt like I was teething. I needed to bite something to stop the unsettling feeling. There was a loud ringing in my ear, as I leaned in closer to follow the voice. Something smelled of sweat and strongly of blood, but I also smelled sweetness as I inched closer. "When you gain consciousness, take the knapsack I have placed next to you. Inside, there will be a piece of paper with directions written on it as well as your most precious items. You must follow the paper if you wish to live. Iie, I _need_ you to live."_

_The ringing continued to grow louder as my teeth found the object it was looking for. Sweet, sweet smell. It taunted me, and I could no longer control myself as my teeth bit down hard, and I began sucking. Then, everything seemed to stop._

_"Aishiteru…" _

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><p><strong><strong>Terminology:<strong>**

****Gomen - Sorry****

****Iie - No****

****Aishiteru - I love you****

****{_Edit 08.14.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	2. Playful Banter

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 2: Playful Banter**

**{_Edit 08.14.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

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><p>About 12 minutes into their dash back to the safety of their hotel, Rima had suddenly stopped mid-dash.<p>

"Something wrong Rima?" Amu skid to a halt as well and watched her best friend wrinkle her nose in disgust and narrow her eyes dangerously. A sudden familiar scent wafted towards Amu and into her nose. The rosette then immediately understood why Rima had stopped: it was the vamps from the Tsukiyomi clan.

"Ehhh? If it isn't Souma and Fujisaki. Tch, what a heavenly surprise." It was clear that Rima's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she spoke slowly. However, when she spoke of the name Fujisaki, it was spoken with caution.

"Konban wa." Fujisaki Nagihiko greeted with a small smile on his face.

"Matte, Rima. We're going get in trouble if we engage." Amu warned her hotheaded comrade. Although Rima did not pounce or do anything irrational, Amu did take note of Rima's clenched fists and offense stance.

"What? Is the newbie scared?" Souma Kukai laughed and proceeded to jump off the garbage disposal he had been standing on top of just a second ago.

"I'm being rational unlike you two idiots," Amu snapped back. There was just no use in fighting at a time and place like this, Amu noted. In fact, if things were to get ugly, Amu was pretty sure there would be consequences later on with each their own leader.

"Honestly, you've only been gone for 3 hours and you already stirred up trouble?" A shrilly voice suddenly interrupted the tension. Everyone all turned around to find Yuiki Yaya sitting on top of a garbage dumpster lid nearby, one leg crossed over the other. She giggled before jumping down from the dumpster and side-stepping in between the four vamps in a blur. "I thought you knew how to resist trouble, Rima-tan!"

Rima rolled her eyes and huffed out a short breath. "Need I remind you that you're the one who's the troublemaker here? I wouldn't count out the times you played countless pranks on me and Utau."

The caramel-headed girl playfully stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at Rima before speaking, "So mean, Rima-tan!"

"We're wasting time," Nagihiko sighed and jumped off the garbage disposal himself. He stepped out from the shadows and shone brilliantly underneath the glow of the moonlight.

From the corner of Amu's eyes, she watched as Rima silently catch her breath, her jaw tightening as Nagihiko completely revealed himself.

"Wasting time indeed," a sixth voice spoke out. Everyone warily drew their eyes toward the newest addition to the group. There at the entrance of the alley stood a boy with golden hair and ruby eyes. With a patient look on his face, he calmly said, "Ikuto is waiting for you two, Nagihiko and Kukai. He's not pleased, so you best be on your way back."

Kukai grinned and boldly placed his hands on his hips. "Honestly, Tadase! Don't you have a clan to lead? Why are you playing messenger for Ikuto?"

"Kukai!" Nagihiko hissed, in hopes of silencing his comrade. However, that didn't stop Kukai from sizing down the younger boy in front of him.

"Don't you think I would if I had a clan to lead?" Hotori Tadase countered back. Through all this, Rima, Amu, and Yaya stayed quiet.

"Here, take the kid. Make her yours! She'll be a good addition to help revive your dead clan," Kukai jokingly stated as he grabbed Yaya by the arm and pushed her towards Tadase. Yaya let out a startled yelp as Tadase caught her by her shoulders.

"Kukai no baka!" Yaya yelped, her cheeks flushing as she stepped away from the golden boy.

"Honestly, Kukai," Nagihiko rolled his eyes at his friend's childish behavior. "Gomen, Tadase-kun, Yaya-san. Please forgive Kukai and his foolish behavior."

"Mou, calling me Yaya-san makes me feel old!" Yaya pouted, the flush still evident on her cheeks as she tried to change the topic.

"Aa, gomen, Yaya-chan." Nagihiko gave her a polite smile.

"What the hell is all this!" Rima snarled suddenly, drawing everyone's attention towards the shorter girl. "What do you all think you guys are doing? This isn't some damn reunion! We're enemies, for Kami sake! Chotto koi, Fujisaki! Come fight me!" Her defensive stance then slid into an offense stance. At this, Amu grew alert, ready to stop Rima if she were to engage.

"Yamete, Rima-chan. I don't wish to fight you. If you really hate me that much, I'd rather we talk it out than have to engage in physical activities." There was a frown on Nagihiko's face.

"Urusai, liar!" Rima screamed. Before Amu could react, Rima had pounced off the balls of her feet and flew towards the purple-haired vamp.

"Rima!"

"Mashiro!"

"Rima-tan!"

Nagihiko braced himself, but nothing ever came at him. Instead, a blur of shadow stepped in front and reflected Rima's attack, the force so strong that she rebounded and slammed into the trashcans behind her.

"Shit!" Kukai whistled low as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

"Rima-tan!" Yaya jumped and ran to the blonde lying on the ground.

"Ikuto!" Tadase sighed and watched as his best friend stood up from a crouch. The seventeen-year-old in front of him slid his hands into the pockets on his pants.

"Tadase. Did I not tell you that I was waiting for my comrades?" Tsukiyomi Ikuto spoke, his voice low and slightly cold.

Amu watched, eyes wide. She slid into a defensive stance, bracing herself. Her movement caught Ikuto's eyes, and violet orbs locked onto honey orbs. The rosette gasped. Somehow just by eye contact, Ikuto was able to send shivers down her spine.

"Hinamori Amu," she heard him mumble to himself. Before she could question him, the blue-haired vampire prince turned towards his brunette comrade. "Kukai, what do you think you're doing? Why are you picking a fight with Utau's vampires?"

"Just a little fun here and there, Tsukiyomi. Eheheh!" Kukai let out a nervous chuckle as his leader raised a brow, questioning his answer.

"God damn," Rima groaned. With the help of Yaya supporting half her weight, she was able to sit up and slowly stand up. Amu ran over and stood on the other side of the petite vamp, helping Yaya support Rima.

"I think it's best for Utau's little vampires to run along, don't you think?" Ikuto questioned. "I know for a fact that Utau will be furious once she finds out three of her vamps are mingling with the enemies."

"Che," Rima spat. "What makes you think Utau will find out about this little quarrel of ours?"

"Ah!" Kukai yelped and pointed at the shadow on top of the building that barely managed to conceal itself. The shadow smirked, fangs gleaming as it took off in a flash, running from roof to roof.

"Shit!" Rima and Amu screamed as they watched one of their fellow clan members fly towards the hotel.

"Better hurry," Ikuto taunted, a smirk on his face.

"Let's go!" Rima screeched after throwing the three males dirty looks. She threw herself out of Yaya and Amu's grip and started running back to the hotel first, determined to try to catch the sneaky vampire far up ahead.

"Ahhh, Rima-tan! Be careful! You're hurt!" Yaya wailed and chased after her friend. Amu herself began to chase the two, but before she left, she glanced back once to find Ikuto's eyes still on her. She narrowed her eyes a bit before giving full speed to chase.

By the time the three girls burst through the entrance to the hotel lobby, it was eerily quiet. Vampires that had been chatting and lounging around the lobby stopped what they were doing to eye the three vamps. It was apparent that the three were not able to catch the sneaky traitor. News spread fast throughout the Hoshina clan, and this was news that everyone wanted a piece of as eyes followed the three.

Amu clenched her fists as cold sweat dripped down her back. She glanced at her two comrades, and was surprised to see how calm the two were acting. Rima's eyes were fierce, her orbs daring the vamps staring at her to just say something. Even Yaya who usually acted like a baby was calm and composed.

The three crossed the lobby, but before they could make it to the emergency exit stairwell, a male vampire appeared before them. Amu recognized him as one of Utau's trusted vampire messengers.

"Hinamori Amu. Mashiro Rima. Yuiki Yaya. Utau-himesama has requested your presence in her room. Please proceed quickly."

Amu, Rima, and Yaya glanced at each other. Each girl but Amu had a look of knowing. Sensing the uneasiness in Amu, Rima sighed softly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Yaya grabbed Amu's hand and squeezed it once, reassuringly.

Holding hands, the three girls proceeded to climb the stairs to the thirteenth floor towards Utau's master bedroom. A strong knock earned the girls entrance.

"Utau-tan, you asked for us?" Yaya questioned. Amu was not at all surprised by the honorific Yaya had used. It was obvious that Rima and Yaya had experience with the Hoshina vampire princess and seemed to be in the category of what could be described as somewhere between friends and acquaintances rather than just "clan members." Amu, however, was still the newborn and felt the need to respect those older than her.

Utau dropped the white chiffon curtain she was holding in her hands and turned to face away from the window, her violet eyes fierce. As she approached them, Utau eyed Rima's scrapped arms from when Ikuto had kicked her to the ground.

"Hmm?" Utau drawled.

"Utau..?" Rima questioned. "You called for u –" Before Rima could finish her sentence, Utau had swung her leg in unreadable speed and kicked the petite girl squarely on the jaw. Yaya and Amu bit back a gasp as they watched Rima stagger two steps before she crashed to the floor in shock.

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><p><strong><strong>Terminology:<strong>**

****Konban wa - Good evening****

****Matte - Wait up/hold on****

****Kukai no baka! - Kukai you idiot!****

****Mou - Geeze****

****Chotto koi! - Come here (rudely)****

****Yamete - Stop****

****Urusai - Shut up****

****Himesama - Princess****

****{_Edit 08.14.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	3. Secret's Out, Rima

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 3: Secret's Out, Rima**

**{_Edit 08.15.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

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><p>"Rima!" Honey eyes widened in shock as Amu gasped and ran over to pick her friend up.<p>

"Sh-shit," Rima murmured and stood up. The wheat-haired girl wobbled a bit, but regained her balance after a few steps. After she inspected her bruised jaw – no, it was broken – she turned to glare at Utau who stood there and watched with her arms crossed over her chest. "What was that for?" Rima screamed and hotly pushed Amu away.

Amu retreated and stood next to Yaya, who looked too terrified to do anything or even move. Come to think of it, this was the first time the newborn had ever seen Yaya terrified and cower from Utau. In fact, this scene was foreign to Amu. Usually, the vampire princess would joke around with Yaya while Rima stood to side with a small smirk. Unfortunately, now wasn't the case; it was the opposite.

"W-we should leave Amu-chi," Yaya mumbled and turned towards the door. When she noticed that Amu wasn't following, she withdrew her hand from the doorknob and whipped back around. "Amu-chi!"

Yaya grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her out of the room. However, Amu didn't budge one bit. The caramel-haired girl noted that the pink-haired girl had put all the weight down onto her heels. Yaya narrowed her eyes as she drank in Amu's facial expression. There was a mixture of fear and faithfulness. It was like Amu was afraid of Utau, but faithful to not leave Rima all alone with the raging Hoshina.

"Amu-chi," Yaya tried again to no avail. Amu shook her head.

"We can't just leave Rima alone," she whispered, looking into Yaya's slightly teary eyes. "Rima's helped me through a lot, and I'm not going to leave her now."

"This isn't our fight!" Yaya argued back. Before Amu could rebut, Utau interrupted.

"Where do you think you two are going?" Utau snarled and in a swift breeze, the door was slammed shut and Utau was leaning on it, the same cross look on her face. Her lips formed a frown and her violet eyes was fierce with hatred. If looks could kill, Amu decided that she would definitely be dead by now.

"This isn't your fight? Please. Don't make me laugh." Although she said that, Utau barked out forced laughter. "Mashiro wasn't the only one who took part in your little banter with Ikuto and his vamps."

"Utau-ta-"

Utau swung her right arm and punched Yaya to the floor. Yaya cried out in pain and curled up in fetal position, clutching her stomach as tears slid down her porcelain face.

"Utau-sama, we can explain!" Amu stammered and backed up against the wall. Utau kept walking towards her, and Amu noticed her hands were clenched in fists. Amu grit her teeth as she took in her surroundings. Both of her comrades were on the floor in pain, their eyes wide and fearful as they watched Utau approach the newborn. Amu then decided that she had no choice but to defend even if it might get her killed.

The rosette slide into her defense stand. Utau noticed and seemed surprised in a pleased way.

"Oh?" she drawled, her smirk blossoming into a full on impish grin. Utau slid into her offense stance. Without any warning, her figure blurred, and it was the only warning Amu got as she saw Utau flying towards her.

Amu's breath hitched and she ducked at the last minute, rolling away from the wall she had been trapped against earlier. She stood up and glanced behind her. Amu had a three second warning as she watched Utau kick off the wall and fly towards her again.

"Amu!" Rima shouted a warning.

This time, Amu braced herself for the pounce. Utau did exactly that, her slender arms gripping Amu's shoulder in a crushing grip. The rosette grimaced in pain as she herself gripped Utau's shoulders. However, the vampire princess was stronger and more experienced. She knew how to control her strength, whereas Amu was still trying to figure hers out. With a small growl, Utau pushed Amu and slammed her to the floor. Amu choked back a gasp, but was determined to fight back. Utau's eyes shone brilliantly, and Amu didn't doubt the fact that the Hoshina was enjoying this.

With a grunt, Amu pushed back against Utau. With the help of her feet, and her sudden burst of strength, Amu managed to catch the pig-tailed girl off guard, sending her crashing on top of her bed. Utau's mouth formed a surprised silent gasp as she laid on top of her bed.

"Yamette, Utau-sama!" Amu gasped through short breaths. Before she could process what happened, Amu sniffled and felt tears in her eyes. She looked at the palms of her hands and realized she was shaking. Amu hastily swiped at the blooming tears in her eyes, physically and mentally preparing for the punishment that she knew she was going to receive for fighting back against the vampire princess.

However, nothing happened. Amu opened her eyes and found Utau lying on her bed, shaking with silent laughter. The Hoshina's soft giggles grew louder, eventually breaking into a fit of joyful laughter.

Amu glanced at Rima and Yaya, who both shared the same look of surprise on their faces.

"N-nani..?"

"Oh Kami, I haven't had that much fun since forever!" Utau had finally stopped her giggles, and she now sat on the bed with her head on her knees. She grinned toothily at Amu before stretching her legs out in front of her and sliding off her bed.

"Gomen ne. Hotoni gomen ne." Utau gave Yaya and Rima a small smile as the two of them slowly stood up from the floor. Yaya seemed to have accepted Utau's apology, but Rima still looked a little uneasy. "I didn't mean for things to go that far. I was just upset when I found out the three of you ran into Ikuto and his crew. I acted irrationally, and I apologize for my behavior. If you two would like, I can heal you right this instant," Utau offered.

Yaya shrugged it off. "It's nothing I can't handle, Utau-tan. But you should set Rima-tan's jaw. It looks swollen." She grimaced.

"Come here, Rima. Let me set your jaw." Utau beckoned for Rima to come over. Amu watched silently.

"Listen, Utau, if you have nothing else to do with us, I would like to leave. I have better things to do," Rima said suddenly. Instead of walking towards Utau, Rima turned the other way, ready to exit the master bedroom.

Rima seemed to miss the slight frown on Utau's face. "Mou, don't be mad, Rima. I was just having my fun. Come on, let me see your jaw." Utau smirked, showing a bit of her fangs. Amu could tell that Utau was enjoyed harassing the Mashiro, whether it be with words or through physical fights.

"Humph! Just you wait! Next time when we spar, I'm gonna beat the crap out of you, you crazy bitch!" Rima whirled around and glared at the vampire princess, who broke out into a full on grin.

"Hai, hai! It'll be my pleasure to prove you wrong!"

Rima scowled at the response and stormed out of the room. Amu sighed wearily and glanced at Yaya, silently asking her if she was going to leave as well. Yaya gave the rosette a smile and followed her out.

"Daijoubu?" Amu murmured to Yaya, who nodded cheerfully.

"Un! I'm fine. Like I said earlier, Amu-chi, this isn't something I can't handle. You should go check on Rima-tan though. She should get ice for her jaw."

"Un. Oyasumi, Yaya." Amu smiled and ran to catch up with her roommate.

When Amu reached the room she shared with Rima, she unlocked the door and walked in. "Rima? Daijoubu?" Amu called out, but there was no sign of the petite girl anywhere. She wasn't in her bed, so the rosette assumed Rima was in the bathroom.

"You're crying," Amu noted out loud as she opened the bathroom door and found her friend sitting in the bathtub, head buried in her arms. When she got no response, Amu closed the door and sat down on the toilet.

"I've never seen you cry before," she continued. "Does it hurt that much? I know we heal fast, but if it's painful, I can get you ice." There was no response, only hiccups and sniffles.

Amu sighed. "What's wrong, Rima? Tell me the truth."

"Nadeshiko," Rima murmured. Amu tilted her head, confused.

"Nadeshiko?" Amu repeated as Rima finally looked up, face streaked with tears.

"Nadeshiko hurts!" Rima yelled, hurt evident in her eyes. "Nadeshiko is a dirty liar!

"Nadeshiko hurts!" Rima yelled, hurt evident in her eyes. "Nadeshiko is a dirty liar! She's nothing but a dirty liar! Liar, liar, liar, liar!" Rima kept shouting over and over again. She gripped her hair in her head as tears streamed steadily down her doll-like face. Amu felt pity for the poor girl.

"Why did he have to lie to me, Amu?" Rima questioned quietly. "It hurts because he lied to me. I trusted him. No… I trusted Nadeshiko, not Nagihiko! I trusted him… and to top it all off, how could he do what he did?" Rima bawled, her cries emitting the pain from deep within her.

**_8 years ago…_**

_"Ne, ne! Nadeshiko! Kocchi kocchi!" A happy seven-year-old Rima laughed joyfully as she ran from her eight-year-old companion. Her already long, wheat hair whipped around her face playfully. _

_"Rima-chan! Matte!" Behind the petite girl was a taller girl. Her amber eyes twinkled as her long legs chased after her friend. Like Rima, Nadeshiko's long hair danced around her face, although hers was less messy as it was tied up into a high ponytail. "Ah! Rima-chan!" Nadeshiko's eyes widened as she watched Rima suddenly fall to the ground._

_"Ahahahaha!" To the taller girl's surprise, Rima was laughing, tears dripping down her face. _

_"Mou, Rima-chan! You had me worried. I thought you tripped!" Nadeshiko frowned, pretending to be mad. _

_"Gomen ne, Nade!" Rima smiled, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Ne, ne! Nadeshiko. Come here. I'm gonna tell you a secret." _

_"Hn? Nani?" Nadeshiko's eyes widened as she leaned in towards the beckoning Rima._

_"You're my bestest friend ever, Nade. I never want us to fall apart even when we grow up. I'm serious, okay?" Rima watched her friend cautiously, her doe-like eyes gleaming with seriousness. Nadeshiko's eyes wavered slightly, her mouth opened as if she were about to say something. However, Rima interrupted. "No more secrets and lies between us, okay? Because I _hate_ liars!"_

_Nadeshiko closed her mouth, forming a slight frown. At the last second, she curled her lips into closed-lipped smile. "Un! No lies because Rima-chan hates secrets!" _

_"Pinky promise!"_

_"Hai, hai!"_

**_7 years ago…_**

_"Mama, stop!" Rima screeched, tears streaming down her face. The blonde was trembling as she hid underneath the coffee table. "It hurts!" _

_"Mama only wants to talk, Rima-chan!" A scowling grown woman knelt in front of the table, meeting her daughter eye level. "Come out now or Mama will be mad at you."_

_"I-iie!" Rima wailed, kicking her foot fruitlessly._

_"Rima!" Her mother scowled as hand connected with ankle. She pulled her flailing daughter out from underneath the table. "Mama just wants to talk out her feelings. Mama just wants.." Through tears, Rima watched as her mother began to cry herself. Blonde eyes widened when she noticed how sharp two of her Mama's teeth were._

_Before Rima could react, her mother had lowered her head and bit her own daughter. From there, Rima screamed bloody murder._

_"Rima-chan!" A third voice called out as the window nearest to the two Mashiros was smashed. Rima screamed and covered her face from the falling shards. As she peeked through her arms, she swore that standing in front of her was a purple-haired angel._

_"N-nadeshiko," she whimpered, her eyesight wavering. However, instead of the pony-tailed girl Rima had called for, the boy in front shook his head, a sad smile on his face._

_"Iie. Nadeshiko… Nadeshiko isn't real. But Nagihiko is. Gomen, Rima-chan." Tears streamed endlessly down Rima's face. She was confused and hurt. But before she could say anything, Nagihiko turned towards the woman who had changed recently. _

_"Mashiro-san, please let go of your daughter. You've just recently changed, and I know it's hard to control yourself, but for the sake of your daughter, please let go and step away."_

_"You don't know me!" Rima's mother screamed and stood up, ready to pounce. However, Nagihiko was ready as well. He barred his fangs and pounced forward at the same time as the woman in front of him. _

_Rima screamed and watched as the two in front of her quarreled. In the end, despite the difference in size, Nagihiko had pinned down Rima's mother, who was thrashing around. _

_"Wanting to drink from your own daughter's blood is despicable," he snarled. "It's vampires like you who do not deserve to live. Even... even if you can't control yourself, there should be instinct from deep within that should restrain you from what you were going to do. Mashiro-san… gomen." With a deep sigh, Nagihiko used his newborn strength and tore the woman's head off her body._

_"Rima-chan.." Nagihiko scurried over to the girl curled in a ball. Her whole body trembled, and Rima looked like she was having a hard time breathing._

"Away…" Rima murmured through painful gasps. "Get away!" Rima yelped as pain coursed through her small body.

_"Rima, stop!" Nagihiko scowled as his friend tried to claw herself away blindly. "You're going to die if I don't do anything!"_

_"I hate liars! Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar!" Rima screamed through breathy gasps._

_"Gomen… Rima-chan. My motives may be selfish, but I truly want you to live. So please… forgive me when you awaken."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Terminology:<strong>**

****Yamette - Stop****

****Nani? - What?****

****Gomen ne. Hotoni gomen ne - Sorry. I'm honestly/really sorry.****

****Mou - Geeze****

****Hai - Okay/yes****

****Daijoubu? - Are you okay?****

****Un! - Yeah! (idk. it's those sounds girls in anime always make when they agree with something LOL)****

****Oyasumi - Goodnight****

****Kocchi kocchi! - Over here!****

****Matte - Wait****

****{_Edit 08.15.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	4. The Tsukiyomi Clan's Past and Specialty

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 4: The Tsukiyomi Clan's Past and Specialty****  
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**{_Edit 08.15.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Ikuto-sama, I've come bearing a letter for you."<p>

Ikuto sighed, feeling the urge to slam his head down onto the wooden table in front of him. Instead, Ikuto drew in a breath and glanced up from the papers laid in front of him. The blue-haired vampire prince stood up, wheeling his chair out of the way.

"Speak," he murmured as he watched his vampire messenger bow politely before delivering the news he had brought with him. The messenger lifted his head and pulled out an envelope with a red waxed candle seal. Ikuto quirked a brow as he noticed a splatter of blood on one of the corners of the envelope.

"This is from Kukai-san. He says that when he was out doing his daily perimeter checks, he was attacked."

"Attacked?" Ikuto questioned, furrowing his brows. "He was attacked within the Tsukiyomi territory?"

The messenger shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not sure I know the whole story, Ikuto-sama. Kukai-san merely told me to deliver this letter to you."

"Why didn't Kukai come directly to me himself?" Ikuto asked.

"Kukai-san was injured when he made it back to the gates this morning. He was rushed to the infirmary ward right away. But before he was taken there, he wanted me to hand you the letter." With that, the messenger placed the envelope on the table in front of his leader.

"Hn. Has Kukai been treated?" Ikuto asked as he gingerly picked up the letter. The envelope was blank; nothing was written on the outside. It was merely a white envelope with a red wax seal and stained with droplets of blood.

"Hai, Ikuto-sama. I have been informed that Kukai has healed rather quickly and is released from the infirmary ward."

"If that's the case, bring Kukai to me. I would like to have a few words with him."

"Hai, Ikuto-sama." With a deep bow, the messenger flickered away, leaving Ikuto alone in his spacious office.

While waiting for Kukai, Ikuto decided that he did not want to read the letter quite just yet. He decided that he would wait for Kukai to hear his side of the story before opening the envelope. With that figured out, the Tsukiyomi walked over to the glass wall behind his desk that overlooked the institute's garden. He lifted the royal blue velvet curtains and peered outside. There happened to be a full moon tonight, casting a brilliant reflection in the water fountain that was structured in the middle of the yard.

"You requested to see me, Ikuto?"

The curtains dropped from Ikuto's hands as he turned around to face the figure behind him. He was greeted with chestnut brown hair and emerald green eyes. It took Ikuto a few seconds to avert his mind away from the night sky and focus on Kukai, who looked a little drowsy. It must've been the morphine injected in Kukai to help cope with his injury, Ikuto realized.

"You're not going to fall over, are you?" Ikuto taunted as he watched the boy in front of him sway just slightly. Kukai shook his head.

"Don't be dumb. I'd be rather pissed if it was morphine that knocked me off my feet rather than an actual fight, don't you think?" Kukai sneered, trying to prove to his leader and friend that he was more than capable of handling morphine in his system.

"Was it that bad that they had to inject you?" Ikuto snorted, walking around his desk to push Kukai onto the chair behind him. Kukai mumbled a string of colorful words as he held onto his head, dizzy from the sudden movement.

"Mattaku," Kukai sighed. "I don't know what happened. Everything happened too fast. I was scouting the perimeter at seven –"

"Weren't you supposed to scout at four?" Ikuto deadpanned.

"Urusai!" Kukai barked, with a twitch. "Anyways, I was scouting at seven and when I was at the east end, I was ambushed."

"How many?"

"…one." Kukai mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

"What the fuck? You were ambushed by one and they were able to do this to you?" Ikuto snorted.

"Oi! If you were there, I'm pretty sure you would've been beat to a little pulp as well, teme!" Kukai flared while pouting. Ikuto snorted, knowing that the Souma's pride was hurt.

As the brunette in front of him sulked, Ikuto smirked, amused with Kukai's attitude. He knew that he would not once regret turning Kukai.

"_Oi, gaki. It's late, what are you doing out in the dark?"_

"_Nothing.."_

"_If you don't leave soon, you'll get killed."_

"_I'm not dying without a fight then."_

"_Tch. You amuse me kid. Where's your family?"_

"_... I don't have a family..."_

"_Sensitive topic?"_

"_Hn, tell me about it."_

"_Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Vampire Prince of the Tsukiyomi Clan."_

"_Souma Kukai... Vampire?"_

"_What, are you scared?"_

"_If you're a vampire then that makes you strong right?"_

"_Hn, possibly."_

"_Turn me into a vampire!"_

_"Are you kidding me? We barely even know each other and you want me to bite you?"_

"_We know each other's names don't we? I think that's enough information. Go, I'm waiting."_

"_..."_

"_Dude, come on. I need the power so I can get revenge."_

"_Hmph, you amuse me. I like you."_

"Tell me about the letter, Kukai. And what happened to the person who attacked you."

"He got away. I wasn't able to see his face because he was wearing a mask. But before he left, the teme wanted me to give the letter specifically to you. He said it was important." Kukai grit his teeth and clenched his fists at the memory.

At this, Ikuto turned around and picked up the envelope. He flipped it front and back, before bringing it to his mouth. As he stuck his tongue out, ready to take a lick at the blood, he stopped and turned to Kukai.

"Your blood or his?" He asked. Kukai shook his head, as if to say he didn't know.

"It could be either of ours. I was able to injure him as well before he fled." From there, Ikuto flicked his tongue on the bloodstained envelope. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Well?" Kukai asked.

"It's foreign. I don't know whose blood this is." Ikuto once again took another lick. He nodded his head in confirmation. "Aa. I can't tell which clan this blood belongs to."

With that, Ikuto slid open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. His violet eyes scanned the letter intensely, and from Kukai's view, he could see that his leader was growing furious with each sentence he read.

"What does it say?" Kukai prompted. He didn't like the look on his friend's face.

"Meeting tonight with me, you, and Fujisaki. Rest up, because I'm going to need you wide awake for this, and make sure you let Fujisaki know," Ikuto barked before crushing the letter in the palm of his hand.

Kukai nodded stiffly, understanding the importance of the letter and walked out the door.

After Kukai left, Ikuto sighed and decided that now would be a good time to put the next two hours of peace and quiet to finish reviewing the reports on his table. However, before he could actually settle down, Ikuto let out another annoyed sigh.

"What now?" He asked as he felt a familiar presence. He didn't have to look up from his papers to see who it was.

"Ikuto! Long time no see."

"What do you want, Utau? I'm busy. And you're not supposed to be in my territory."

"Mou, don't be like that, Ikuto onii-chan!" Ikuto twitched at the honorific his sister had added at the end of his name. After all, it had been a while since his sister had called him by that. Ikuto decided that it would be best to just ignore Utau. However, the pesky blonde didn't seem to want to budge.

"What? What do you want?" Ikuto finally surrendered, giving full attention to his younger sister. Instead of the mischievous smile Ikuto was expecting, he was greeted with a grave face. Utau said nothing but presented a crumpled envelope in his hand. His skilled eyes and memory told him it was the same envelope he had received earlier. "Where did you get this?" he demanded, snatching the envelope out of Utau's hand.

"I found it on my desk when I was cleaning up. Did you get one too?"

"Aa," Ikuto murmured, eyebrows furrowing as he scanned the exact same words he had read earlier.

"What are you going to do about this?" Utau demanded, slamming her hands onto the oak table in front of her. The table creaked at her Herculean strength, and Ikuto vaguely remembered the strength his sister possessed.

"Nothing. The Tsukiyomi clan has no need to fear. My people are ready for whatever curveball the heavens and Fate decides to throw at us. We will survive everything," Ikuto stated confidently. "However," he murmured.

"What?" Utau sneered, daring her brother to continue.

"However, I'm not sure your little clan will be ready for this. In fact, it would be wise if you start finding clans to form pacts with."

"I don't need help! My clan does not need help. We're strong too, Ikuto! I know that the Hoshina clan is ready for anything too." Utau yelled back.

"Then why are you here?" Ikuto asked her, his eyes locking onto ones similar to his. "Why are you here in my office, on my territory? You're terrified, Utau. You're saying such big words for such a young girl. Don't you realize, Utau?" Ikuto sneered as he watched his sister blanch at his words.

"Hn," Ikuto scoffed. "You don't even know your true motives of coming here. You came here because you thought you just wanted to know if I got the letter. But really, you came because you wanted my advice. You wanted my advice and you didn't even know this was what you really wanted. Well my advice is this: train your clan hard, imouto, and form a pact with other clans. You're going to need all the help you can get to survive the war that looms over us."

"…That's why… that's why when the right time comes and after all my hard work of training, the Hoshina Clan's going to prosper. Bit by bit. I'm getting stronger, Ikuto. I'm not the same weak little girl you once knew.

"My clan will survive the war that threatens us. We're going to find out who is threatening the vampire clans with war. And when we survive, whether it takes ten years or not, your clan will be next on my list. You're my rival Ikuto, even if you are my own brother. I won't ever forgive you for what you did to okaasan." Utau spoke bravely, although Ikuto could see that her knees were shaking.

"Hnn," Ikuto drawled, "you're full of vengeance, aren't you? But don't you forget, my dear imouto. I'm more experienced than you will ever be. With me as the leader of the Tsukiyomi clan and Kukai and Nagihiko by my side, there will be no chance that whatever threat you sprout will ever reach us."

Ikuto watched as his sister squeezed her eyes shout, trying to control her tears. He frowned slightly, but it was gone in a nanosecond.

"Be scared and wary, Utau. For when you do decide to make the foolish move, just know that _Purple Flare_, _Silent Kill_, _Avenger_, and _Avenger Flare_ will be waiting for you. Don't be foolish, imouto. I won't hold back even if you are my family. After all, I didn't hold back on our mother."

With that, Ikuto watched as Utau barred her fangs. He watched mildly amused as her temper took over. Utau growled and whipped around, kicking the chair that was behind her. In a split second, the chair had hit the wall and splintered to a hundred wooden pieces. At that, Utau turned back once more to glare at her brother before she disappeared.

"Hn. She always had a bad temper… Quite the opposite from okaasan.."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Mattaku - Honestly**

**Urusai! - Shut up!**

**Teme - Bastard**

**Gaki - Brat**

**Imouto - Little sister**

**Okaasan - Mom**

**Skills:**

**Silent Kill - the art of killing in silence, using only his hearing sense, eye sight, and agility skills to dodge or attack but is able to kill in one single slit of the throat. Enemies are unfortunate to come across a vampire who masters the silent killing, not being able to locate where your enemy is, causing you to panic and lose your guard. (Kukai's specialty)**

**Purple Flare - the art of summoning the devil vampire's most powerful throwing star. The star itself is made of purple blood, the strongest blood there ever is and most poisonous. Just a small cut from it can kill you instantly. No medic vampire has ever found a healing for purple blood. (Nagihiko's specialty)**

**Avenger - the art of summoning the all-time strongest God devil vampire's most powerful throwing star. The star is made from the purest blood you can ever find; white blood. **

**Avenger Flare - the art of combining Avenger and Purple Flare together to create one of the most energy sucking stars to be created. Instead of the star being made from white or purple blood, it is made from the rarest blood there is ever to be found; a jade green. When Avenger Flare is used, the first star is thrown towards the enemy to manipulate him so that he could dodge it easily, but at the last minute, a second Avenger Flare star is submerged from hidden under the first star's shadow and is used to kill the manipulated enemy. (Ikuto's specialty)**

**{_Edit 08.15.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	5. Painful Migraines and Memories

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 5: Painful Migraines and Memories****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 08.19.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>Sighing, Amu stuck a hand through her messy bedhead hair. It was definitely too early in the morning. As the pinkette stifled a yawn, she came to realize how messed up her sleeping schedule was. It was currently eight in the morning, and recently she had been going to bed at five in the morning, therefore sleeping for only three hours. Amu blinked sleepily, mentally checking her energy reserves; it seemed to be pretty low lately because of her sleeping habit.<p>

Shaking away the upcoming migraine, Amu decided to try to get some more sleep considering she had nothing planned to do today. Sliding her covers up all the way to her nose, she closed her eyes quickly, in hopes of taking away the prickling feeling on her eyes she was getting from lack of sleep. Letting out a sigh of exhaustion, Amu suddenly found herself unable to go back into slumber. She snapped open her eyes in frustration and anger before turning onto her left side. Unconsciously, the rosette slipped her right hand under the pillow, feeling the coldness spread around her hand. Amu let out a soft gasp and snapped her hand back out as soon as she felt metal in the shape of a heart.

Sitting back up, the vamp removed her pillow and found herself gazing down at the weapon that was stored underneath her pillow in case someone had tried to break in her room while she was sleeping. Staring back up at her was a bow. The center piece was of a red heart and the arc part was carved into the shape of white wings. Frowning, Amu picked it up and was suddenly hit with the rush of memories.

_"What's this?_

_"Take it, Amu. I want you to have it."_

_"What the hell is that? Seriously, get that away from me! This is so dangerous, and I swear it's not legal to carry one of those around so casually like you do! Mou..."_ _Amu rolled her eyes in annoyance all while crossing her arms, her way of letting the boy in front of her know that she refused to accept the gift. He let out a throaty laugh but forced it into her hands. "You are really weird, you know that? You give me really weird gifts like this bow and last time the bracelet you gave me."_

_"It's a neon amulet bracelet. Don't girls like these things Amu? Are you sure _you're_ not the one that's weird?"_

_Amu gave him a glare and snorted before continuing._ _"Well, yeah! Girls like jewelry, but the one you gave me is different. You told me it had magical powers. I'm 14 years old. I don't believe in that fairy tale stuff anymore."_

_"Amu, tell me you still have the bracelet. Please, just tell me you still have it."_ _His voice sounded panic and frightened. Amu's look softened, and she dug around her pocket before pulling out the pink neon amulet. He let out a soft sigh of relief as he caught sight of brilliant pink. _

_"It's just a bracelet," Amu murmured as she eyed the jewelry in her hand. Somehow, Amu wanted to believe that this bracelet was important. She didn't know if it was because it glowed feverishly or if it was because the boy in front of her had given it to her as a gift._

_He took the bracelet from Amu and pulled out another one from his pocket. His was a neon blue. As he showed her his with a smile, he grabbed the girl's right hand and slipped it onto her wrist, him doing the same thing to his left wrist._

_"There. Matching bracelets," he stated happily._

_"I didn't know guys wore bracelets," Amu snorted, satisfied when she saw him twitch in annoyance._

_"Almost like promise rings, hn. Except you can't lose these as easily as you are to lose rings," he whispered softly. He grabbed Amu's hand and placed his next to hers. When the bracelets came in close contact, Amu watched with wide eyes as the two bracelets seemed to respond to each other and grow even brighter if possible._ _"Whenever you feel distant from me, I'll always be there. Don't worry about feeling lonely. This amulet will protect you wherever you go. It'll be like as if I'm there to actually protect you."_

_"Wait. I don't understand. Why are you telling me this? Why are you giving me the bow? First you give me the bow and now you're telling me that I'll never be alone. What's going on? What are you not telling me?" Amu's voice raised an octave, her eyes dancing nervously. She didn't like where their conversation was going._

_"Amu, just listen to me. Don't ask questions. The bow I gave you is extremely powerful. I enchanted it with a few of my powers, so it'll always look new and stay strong forever. Nothing will be able to make it break. Keep it with you forever."_

_"What's going on? Wherever this is going, I don't like it," Amu mumbled. He sighed; he knew she was a smart girl and would catch on eventually. However, instead of answering her, he pulled her into a tight embrace. He felt the petite girl tense in the hug, but slowly relax. He closed his eyes as he felt Amu return the hug, her fists holding onto his shirt tightly._

_"Meet me at our meeting place tomorrow. I'll teach you how to use the bow."_

_"Demo.."_

_"Do you trust me?"_

_"…Un... I trust you with all my life."_

"Amu?"

A soft knock on the door forced Amu to wake from her memories. She let out a strained gasp as she clutched at her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the room to stop spinning.

"Amu, open the door. I forgot my keys."

Gritting her teeth, Amu swallowed the lump in her throat. She slipped out of bed and threw open the door before climbing back into bed.

"Woah, looking a little nauseous." Rima whistled as entered the room. "Doushita?" The vamp padded across the room and stood in front of the sweating rosette.

"Iie. Just a migraine," Amu semi-lied. Whenever she had flashbacks, she hated telling people about them. So far, she's already had five ever since she had turned, and her flashbacks all involved a fuzzy teenage boy. Amu assumed that the boy must have been important to her, and her most recent flashback confirmed that they had been lovers. However, the rosette couldn't remember his face clearly and it pained her a bit to know that she didn't recognize her past lover.

"Hm, right," Rima said, not believing her best friend. However, the blonde decided to drop the topic even as her eyes laid on the bow in the newborn's lap. "I've come to propose a deal with you."

"And that is?" Amu sighed, eyes still closed. She felt the soft mattress sink under Rima's weight as she sat down next to her.

"If you accompany me on the travel to the Tsukiyomi Institute, I will bargain wi-"

"Iie," Amu stated bluntly. Her eyes were fierce as she turned to look at the blonde next to her.

"Wha – you didn't even let me finish my bargain!" Rima pouted.

"Whatever your bargain is won't be worth what you want me to do."

"Just hear me out! I want you to come with me to the Tsukiyomi Institute, and if you say yes, then I'll take your place on your next two missions!"

"Why? Why do you want to go?" Amu crossed her arms in front of her chest as she stared down the girl who was twiddling her thumbs nervously. The rosette cocked a brow, having never seem her comrade this nervous before.

"Remember what Nagihiko said yesterday? He said that he would talk instead of wanting us to fight. Well, I want to talk. To him. I want to know his point of view." Rima averted her eyes from Amu, her bangs covering her eyes as she continued to twiddle with her thumbs.

Letting out a painful moan, Amu squeezed her eyes shut as another throbbing pain screeched from her head. Damn migraine. "Tch, how troublesome. Fine. But you have to take my next five solo missions."

"Two!" Rima bantered.

"Three. And that's final. Remember, you're the one asking for my help," Amu warned.

"Okay. For the price of you accompanying me to see Nagihiko, I shall take your next three solo missions." With that, the two girls shook on it. At the last second before Rima exited the room, she gave her friend a quick hug. With a blink of an eye, Rima was gone. Amu let out a quick snicker.

The room suddenly grew quiet. Amu looked around and was greeted with a simple two person hotel room. When Amu was first given this room, Rima had long claimed the bed near the window, so she was stuck with the bed near the wall. She didn't mind though; she was just glad she had a place to call home again.

Amu finally decided to leave the hotel. She decided that fresh air would do her migraine good. Amu delicately placed the bow aside and climbed out of bed to get ready for the day.

After a short shower and change of clothes, Amu was ready to leave. She crossed the lobby of the hotel in big strides, hoping to leave without any interruptions. Her head was still pounding, but she felt a bit better after a warm shower.

"Amu-chi. Where are you going?"

Sighing mentally, Amu cursed in her mind before turning around to face Yaya. To her surprise, the slightly shorter girl had her caramel hair flowing down up to her shoulders instead of her usual twin ribboned pigtails. Amu noted how having her hair down made the girl look more mature.

"I'm going out. Did Utau need me for a solo mission? If so, tell Rima because she's going to take on my next three solo missions." With hasty words, Amu turned around, ready to leave once again. However, Yaya stopped her.

"Utau-tan doesn't need you. Where are you going?"

"Alright, what do you want?" Amu gave in, turning around. It didn't seem like she was going to get rid of Yaya anytime soon.

Yaya smirked, crossing her arms and shifting her weight all onto her left leg. "I want Amu-chi to train me!"

Amu quirked a brow at Yaya's bold request.

"Why me? I'm the newborn, remember? There's plenty other vamps stronger than me. Ask Rima or someone else."

"Actually, Amu-chi, I think you have good potential too."

"Me? Are you kidding me?"

"No Amu-chi. Remember my specialty? I can see into your past, and I saw that you were trained well. Someone powerful trained you when you were still human. You have skill, Amu-chi. That person who trained you must've taught you well, and I want you to show me what you've got." Yaya gave Amu a grin and a thumps up.

"Wait, Yaya!" Amu gasped and grabbed Yaya by the shoulders, surprising her.

"N-nani?" Yaya gasped, stunned by the sudden outburst.

"You can see my past. Tell me! Tell me who the person was!" Amu demanded, shaking the girl slightly.

"I-I don't know! He was blurry! There are limits to my specialty Amu-chi. I can't make out small details. Only major things. Gomen, Amu-chi." Yaya shook her head apologetically.

Amu sighed, disappointed. It seemed that the boy was still a mystery. "Iie, it's fine." With that, Amu let go and started towards the door. Sensing Yaya was still in the same spot, she turned around.

"Well? What are you waiting for? If you want me to train you, then come along. I want to show you where to meet up and stuff for lessons." Amu watched Yaya break into a grin. "We better get a move on. We're two miles from the town."

"Hai!" Yaya pumped her fist in the air excitedly and zoomed out the door. Amu laughed and followed the energetic vamp out into the open.

When the two girls had finally made it to the town, Amu clenched her black cloak tighter around her body. It was still early in the morning, so the streets were a bit quiet; stores were barely getting ready to open for business. Yaya tightened her hold on her baby pink cloak as well and stayed close to Amu. Humans were unaware of vampires crawling around their town, so vampires usually tried their best to blend in with humans when out during the day.

The two girls traveled in silence, ignoring the stares they received from a few town locals. Amu prayed the residents assumed they were just foreigners. Another ten minutes into their walk, they had finally crossed the small town and come across a small creek and forest with a clearing.

Amu smiled a bit, thinking about the environment; it was perfect to train in because it was far enough from the town where no one would ever go. "Just a bit further is the heart of the forest and a waterfall. That's where we're going to train. Every morning, I will meet you here at five sharp."

"Are you kidding me, Amu-chi? Five in the morning?" Yaya gaped at her friend and whined, her baby instincts kicking up. She pouted and stomped her foot a few times before she stopped completely after a few more whines.

"Are you done?" Amu hid an amused smile under her sleeve as she watched the tantrum cease to an end.

"Haaaaiii," Yaya answered deflatedly.

"Alright. What do you plan on using to fight against me? I'm an archer myself, so I'm mostly skilled in that. But I do know little thief skills."

"Teach me whatever you know!"

"Alright, archery it is. You're going to have to purchase a new bow and some arrows though."

"Aww. I don't have money with me, Amu-chi!"

"Well, neither do I. That's a problem isn't it? I guess we'll just meet up and start tomorrow. Don't forget, five o' clock, okay?"

"Hai, Amu-chi!"

With that, Yaya waved goodbye to Amu and began to head towards back to town. As she watched the pink cloak fly behind a running Yaya, Amu grinned before turning back around and jumping towards the forest. Dashing past trees, Amu winced as she felt another painful throb go through her head. Amu ignored it and kept jumping from tree branch to another until she reached the heart of the forest and could hear roars of water clearly.

Panting slightly, Amu knelt down on a tree branch and stared at the breathtaking waterfall in front of her. Somehow, this place was calming for Amu. She also felt nostalgia creep into her.

_"Pull your hand back farther; it'll give you a better range."_

_"I'm trying!"_

_"You're not concentrating hard enough, Amu!"_

_Amu pulled the arrow string about two inches back before releasing the tight string. The arrow that was aimed towards him had soared through the air, but had lost momentum and fallen just a couple inches in front of him._

_"See? You're not pulling back hard enough."_

_"I'm tired! Can't we take a break?"_

_"We can take a break, if you can beat me at sparring."_

_"..."_

_"Come on, Amu. I'll take you out anywhere you want me to if you can beat me. All this training is for your own goo-!"_ _He jumped out of the way just in time as Amu sent another arrow flying towards him. This time, the arrow actually had good momentum, whizzing past the spot he had just been standing on a few seconds earlier._

_"Kuso, that was close."_

_Amu smirked and flipped her pink bangs out of her eyes, giving her a clear view of his slightly surprised face._

_"Anywhere? Hm, if I win, you can take me out to the Sakura Festival that's taking place in a few days."_

_"Hn, only if you beat me."_

_"Game on!"_

_After using her entire supply of arrows Amu had strapped to herself, she was panting hard. There were arrows everywhere – stuck on trees, on the floor, but none on him. He had dodged all the arrows, unsurprisingly, given the speed he was born with. However, the fourteen-year-old did manage to wound him once as blood bloomed from the arrow nick._

_Amu turned around after hearing a loud rustle of bushes nearby. She gasped as she saw him running towards her with a small dagger in his hand. She jumped out of the way just in time and dove into a bush from protection._

_"Are you insane? You're going to kill me!" she screeched. Peeking through a few holes, she saw him smiling to himself. Amu looked down to her right and saw one of her arrows broken in half._

_Picking it up, Amu herself pulled a switchblade out of her arrow pouch and untied the white ribbon in her hair before wrapping the switchblade together with the broken end of the arrow and hair accessory. Using the least bit of her strength, Amu aimed it towards his chest, hoping to do slight damage but no enough to kill him. With that in mind, she released the arrow. It flew through the bush and caught him off guard. His eyes widened as well as hers as she watched the knife impale him in the shoulder. He let out a grunt in surprise as she fell to the ground from loss of balance. Amu emerged from behind the bush and ran over to him, frantic._

_"A-are you okay? Baka! You were supposed to dodge that!" Tears welled in his eyes as she stared at the wound she created. She didn't expect him to be caught off guard; she expected him to have known and dodged the attack._

_He gave the girl a light chuckle before standing up and removing the knife. Then, he engulfed Amu in a hug as he watched her knees buckle. He felt her arms snake around his neck, and he knew that if he wasn't there to hold her, she would've fallen._

_"Tch, I never thought someone like you would injure me." He let out a soft laugh. "Come on, let's go home. I'll take you out to the Sakura Festival as promised and buy you a gift as a reward of injuring me."_

_"You already spoil me enough." Amu whispered as she buried her face in his chest._

_"Aa. Only because you're so easy to spoil…"_

Amu opened her eyes and found herself lying against a tree trunk. She sat up more comfortably and rubbed away the sleep from her eyes, cursing herself slightly for falling asleep out in the open. It was a good thing nobody had found her in her vulnerable state.

"You're lucky no one tried to kill you when you fell asleep."

Amu froze at the sound of a new voice. She jumped up and tilted her head to face a blue-haired boy lounging lazily on a sturdy tree branch.

"Were you watching me sleep you pervert?" Amu questioned carefully as she narrowed her eyes at him, sliding into a defense stance. The vamp gave her a smirk before flipping off the tree gracefully.

"You wouldn't even now what pervert meant even if a real pervert came near you." He scoffed and jumped back ten feet as Amu swung her leg, aiming for his face. However, she missed as he dodged it easily. The rosette scowled, not liking how he was pulling her strings little by little.

"Feisty little one, are we?"

"Get away from me, Tsukiyomi."

"Hn. I have no intention of getting anywhere near you anyways. Ja, _Amu_."

Amu gaped at him as he gave her another quick smirk before disappearing completely. She stared at the spot he had previously occupied before she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Glancing up at the sky, Amu realized that the way he pronounced his name had given her shivers. The rosette took one last look at the peaceful waterfall before jumping her way out of the forest and back to the hotel, her head still throbbing dully.

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Mou - Geeze**

**Demo - But**

**Doushita? - What's wrong?**

**Kuso - Damn/damn it**

**Ja (ne) - Later**

**{_Edit 08.19.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	6. Training Commencement

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 6: Training Commencement****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 08.22.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Awh! It's too early Amu-chi!"<p>

Amu sighed and lightly slapped herself on the forehead as she waited for Yaya to quit whining and squirming around on the floor. Although Yaya was letting her baby instincts take over, Amu had to give the vamp credit for even being present bright and early. To Amu's astonishment this morning when she came to wake the girl, Yaya was already awake and packing herself a small bag with a few medicine bottles that contained energy pills as well as a roll of gauze for emergencies. Last but not least, Yaya had clipped on her bow and arrows before throwing on a bright pastel yellow cloak that clashed against the dull morning sky.

"If you want to be the best bowman, then you have to give commitment and not complain at all!" Amu barked and slipped her hand underneath her own cloak. With one quick and simple movement, the cotton shawl that was on Amu's body fluttered onto the dusty floor. Amu gave her companion a smirk before bending down to pick up her bow before strapping her arrow holster loosely around her waist. Her sharp honey eyes watched as Yaya mirrored her mentor's every move. With a soft sigh, Amu glanced at the bow she held in her hand; even through three months of use, the bow still looked brand spanking new with all the care Amu had placed towards it. Snapping out of her thoughts, Amu turned to face her student. "Okay, first, you have to know how to properly use a –"

"Got it, Amu-chi!" Yaya chirped, impatient to start with something more advanced. Amu twitched in annoyance.

"Well, since you were eager enough to cut me off, show me." Amu nodded and jumped to a vacant tree nearby to drop off her knapsack. She pulled out a piece of white chalk from the pocket of her skirt and drew four circles onto the tree bark, each ring circling one after another. Dropping the chalk onto the dirt floor and clapping her hands to get rid of the excess powder, she turned to face her student once again.

"Let's see how many tries it'll take you to hit the center."

"Come on Amu-chi! I'll get that spot in just one try!" Yaya boasted as she prepped for her shot.

Amu snorted at her friend's arrogance and decided to just go with the flow. She'd let Yaya find out the hard way of what she was doing wrong. With that Amu shrugged her shoulders and slid down to lean against the tree, right below the target. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the crisp morning air, smiling as she felt the wind ruffle her cotton candy hair. She hoped Yaya's aim was not bad enough to miss the actual target and fly towards her instead. Now that would be a problem if it did happen.

_Thwack!_

Amu opened her eyes fifteen minutes later to find Yaya panting heavily. Surrounding her was a bunch of arrows sprawled on the floor. Amu scanned the place before looking at the target above her head. She snorted to herself when she found only one arrow stuck to the bark, and the arrow was way off the target.

"At least you made progress," Amu called out.

Yaya puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and drags her tired body over to where Amu had dozed off earlier. _Seems all I've been doing lately is dozing on and off. Hm, I really need to maintain a better sleeping habit, _Amu thought.

"Will you teach me something else now?"

"No. You don't have well enough of aim."

"At least I was able to finally make the arrow hit the tree! C'mon Amu-chi!"

"No Yaya. Today we're focusing on your aim. By the end of the day, I want you to be able to shoot dead center –"

"Fine, watch me."

"– shooting with three arrows in one shot each. I want all three of them in the center, not a centimeter off." Amu smirked, her fangs poking out as she watched Yaya's jaw drop. The caramel-head gaped at her almost in resemblance to a fish out of water and in need of air. Amu stifled her laughter at the sight.

"If you want to be a better archer, you have to learn how to shoot more than one arrow at a time. If you are able to do that, then this will give you a good heads up on striking your enemy more than once and could even possibly kill him if you have superb aim – _but _only if you have good aim. But since you have terrible aim, we need to improve that first."

"You're no fun, Amu-chi," Yaya mumbled. Reluctantly, she strolled over to where her bag was a pulled out another holster of arrows to use as majority of her pervious arrows were scattered everywhere in the field. There was no point in picking up the arrows anyways, as Yaya had managed to break some of them somehow.

"I expect you to have good progress by the afternoon. You have a little more than five hours, so you should be a pro by then," Amu stated as she pulled out her cell phone to check the time. She anticipated Yaya's complain, but she didn't get anything but a , but pulling out an arrow and placing it in position with the bow.

"Just you wait, Amu-chi! I'm going to surpass you one day!" Yaya shouted as she pulled out a new arrow and positioned it with her bow.

"I'll believe it when that actually does happen."

"Hmph!"

As the conversation died out, Amu shifted her body into a more comfortable position. It was nearing seven-thirty, and the clouds were beginning to shift, exposing the bright sun that now shone brightly over the field. Throughout the time period, Yaya had finally managed to shoot with three arrows, so Amu had made her shoot with four. The rosette was greeted with another foot stomp before Yaya reloaded her holster.

It was now a few minutes over noon, and Yaya had finally managed to accomplish the tasks Amu had given her.

"Yaya, I think you're ready to learn a new technique." Amu flipped her overgrown bangs out of her eyes before standing up and adjusting the arrow holder on her waist. Yaya's auburn eyes widened at the design of her superior's bow as she caught sight of it.

"Woah! Do I get one just like that Amu-chi?" Yaya exclaimed, her eyes widening at the intricate design.

Amu snorted and shook her head, earning a frown from her student. "It was a gift. Anyways, I'll teach you a new technique. It's called _Double Arrow_. It basically means that you don't have to keep using more than one arrow to shoot at once."

"Eh?"

Amu gave an inaudible sigh. She should've known Yaya wouldn't understand her right off the bat.

"I knew you weren't going to understand. This skill takes a good amount of concentration in order to be used. Knowing you, your concentration would be broken within a matter of seconds, so I suggest you meditate in your spare time to increase your skill of concentration."

"You're mean, Amu-chi!"

"It's the truth. You have to accept the truth in order for you to improve. That's step one to becoming a strong fighter."

Yaya yawned and waved away her mentor's words lazily. "And the skill? What does it do?"

"As I was saying, the skill _Double Arrow_ starts off with one arrow and a great amount of concentration. Once you hit the mark of perfect concentration flow, the arrow will multiply once you release it from the bow, thus not wasting all your arrows at once. It's a really basic skill, but most hunters need to know this."

Yaya gave a huff of annoyance and puffed up her cheeks before placing her hands on her hips in an annoyed tone. "Mou, Amu-chi! Why didn't you teach me this earlier? We could've saved a lot more time!"

Amu gave her a mischievous grin and crossed her arms over her chest. "Your lack of strength and skills amused me."

Yaya gave a low growl and barred her fangs at Amu, showing her how irate she currently was.

"Now that you at least know how to use a bow and arrow, you'll need to learn how to maintain a good concentration flow. We can just meditate for that. I feel like I keep repeating myself. But for now I'll show you how the skill's done." Lifting up her precious bow, Amu pulled out an arrow from the holster she had strapped onto her waist. Taking a deep breath, Amu aimed directly at the target she had drawn earlier for her pupil and closed her eyes. After a few short seconds, she opened her eyes once more and released the arrow. As soon as the arrow was released from the bow and was slicing through the air, the arrow had multiplied into four arrows and implanted itself a few centimeters off of the dart board. "Hn. I'm a bit rusty. Do you understand now?"

"I thought you could only summon two arrows though. You had four arrows." Yaya pointed out.

"It depends on the greatness of your concentration flow. The greater the flow, the more arrows you can multiply."

"So basically you don't have a good concentration flow since you could only summon four arrows, ne Amu-chi?" Yaya gave her mentor an impish smile as she hid her laugh behind her hand.

"As if! I have greater concentration flow then most vampires," Amu said while rolling her eyes. "Anyways, the whole point in what I said earlier is to just meditate to get good concentration."

Yaya nodded slowly, trying to understand the sudden change of topic.

"Try the skill. I want to see how good you are in concentrating."

Yaya gave me a firm nod before hoisting her bow once more. She shadowed her mentor's movements from earlier, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

"First, you have to concentrate," Amu heard Yaya murmur to herself, eyes still closed. Yaya inhaled a few more deep breaths before snapping her glistening auburn orbs back open. There was a sparkle of determination in her eyes. "Yosh! I got this!"

Raising her eyebrows in an amused manner, Amu stifled her laughter once Yaya had launched her arrow. Not much to Amu's surprise, the arrow had only multiplied into the bottom half of an arrow; the point part was missing.

Yaya let out a surprised and disappointed screech as the half arrow fell to the floor in a matter of seconds while the other whole arrow whizzed through the air.

"This tells a lot doesn't it?" Amu chuckled.

Yaya scowled and threw her bow to the ground; the bow did not break since the girl didn't really intend to throw it hard enough for it the break. Amu sighed and walked over to the irritated girl who kept giving the rosette glares that warned her, _say anything and I'll break your face._

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It's been a long day and you've made great progress so far. Not many archers are able to progress this far in just a matter of hours. It usually takes them two days at most."

"How long did it take you?" Yaya muttered darkly, and Amu noted an eerie, disappointed aura that surrounded the girl.

"Half a day?" Amu bit her lip and watched as Yaya comically fell to the ground and curled up in fetal position. Amu awkwardly sat down next to her student and rubbed her back with the same amount of awkwardness.

"Ne ne, Amu-chi!" Yaya suddenly shot back up and motioned for Amu to get close enough for her to whisper into Amu's ear. Hesitating, Amu slowly inched closer, allowing the novice to whisper into her right ear. "Can you puhleaseeeeeee give me some pointers? Oh please please please please!"

Amu closed her eyes and shrugged. "Meditate. That's all I have to say."

"Mou, Amu-chi! Fine! I'll show you! I'm going to prove to you how well of a bowmaster I'm going to be! Just you wait!" Yaya pumped her fist into the air, her eyes burning with determination.

"Hai, hai," Amu mumbled while wavering her hand as if to wave carelessly Yaya's words. "Maa, it's past noon, and our lessons only go until noon. So just take it easy. We've got plenty of time for you to master the techniques and whatnot."

"Un. Ja, Amu-chi."

"Ja ne," Amu called over her shoulder as she slung on her backpack. She then slipped on her cloak around her body and pulled the hood on, making sure it shielded the blinding sun from her eyes. The weather was brilliant today, but it was a little too sunny for Amu, who rather enjoyed the gloomy weather and thunderstorms instead.

As Amu neared the town, she noted that it was bustling with mundanes. It made sense, considering it was already noon and some were out hanging out with friends, shopping for groceries, or out eating lunch. Amu's sensitive hearing picked up a few hushed whispers concerning about her and her "mysterious" ways of dressing. Considering it was quite hot out today, Amu understood why people were gossiping about the thick cloak that hung on her shoulders. However, Amu ignored the stares and quickened her pace.

As Amu neared a more crowded area because of the grocery store that was on 75% off everything, she was shoved around a bit by the eager shoppers. Cursing under her breath, she had resist from shoving back, knowing just one small shove on her part would send the person toppling onto the floor from her brute strength.

Pale honey eyes widened as she felt a tiny hand slip inside her cloak. Growling, she whipped herself around in such inhumane speed to find the culprit staring wide-eyed. Clearing the stun in his eyes, he quickly withdrew his hand, but kept it held out in front of him. Amu raised a questioning brow.

"Give me some money."

"I don't have any money for you."

"Give me some food then," the boy challenged boldly.

Amu's eyes wandered all over his body, noticing the way he dressed. He was dressed in rags, a dirty T-shirt and pants that were a little too tight for him. His raven hair was messy and untrimmed, a few shaggy pieces falling over his stunning crystal blue eyes.

"P-please nii-san, use y-your manners."

A shy voice broke the silence, and behind the ten-year-old boy was a little girl who was no older than six. She had the same striking blue eyes, but hers was a softer color, like a cornflower, and she had the same inky black hair. She too, was dressed in a ratty T-shirt and a skirt that seemed to be ripped from carelessness many times.

"It's okay, Mizuki. Pity helps sometimes," the boy mumbled, although it seemed he didn't like to use the word 'pity.'

"I won't pity you guys, but since you're so darn demanding, I guess I have no choice but to do something. Until then you'll go away, I'm assuming," Amu said. She gave a soft sigh before curling her lips into a warm smile, noticing the boy's eyes widen at her choice of words. She supposed she could enlighten the boy and his sister. "Come. I'll treat you two to lunch."

The siblings gave each other a look and broke out into two beautiful grins. With that, they followed Amu into the nearest dango restaurant to satisfy their empty bellies.

As soon as the trio entered, they were warmly welcomed by a waitress. She led them to a small vacant table and placed the menus in front of them. However, Amu didn't need to look at it to know what to order; she ordered the restaurant's famous dango plates and three cups of green tea.

"So what are your names?" Amu inquired, trying to start light conversation. The two children who sat in front of the rosette squirmed in their seats. Their minds seemed to be on the food, apparently, but they eventually answered.

"I'm Tomoyo, and she's Mizuki." Tomoyo gave the waitress a quick grin as she placed the teas and teapot in front of them. Before the waitress could leave, Mizuki and Tomoyo jumped at the tea, each taking quick, short sips. They made faces as they scald their tongues on the hot tea, but continued to gulp down half their cup.

"Amu. My name is Hinamori Amu," the vamp introduced herself.

"Amu nee-san," Mizuki mumbled, testing the name. She gave the older girl a timid smile.

The waitress then returned with three plates of dangos, placing them on the table and bidding the group to have a good meal. The two children each grinned happily and dug in. Amu watched with amusement as they both ate in a rapid speed. As the two neared the last of the dumplings, Amu pushed the third plate towards them. It wasn't long until there were only the two dango sticks on each plate and two empty cups.

"Finished?"

"Aa! Arigatou, Amu nee-san!"

"Iie, it's nothing." Amu paid the bill, and the three left the restaurant. As soon as the trio stepped out, the rosette's sharp eyes noticed how everyone seemed to stare at her bright pink hair. Amu rolled her eyes, a little glad that it was only her hair people were staring at. She was slightly relieved that her cloak had hid her bow from plain view; it sure saved a lot of suspicion.

"So where are you two going to go now?"

"Ano, we don't know. We usually just keep traveling forward. We came from the Aka Village but we had to leave because the village was destroyed." Tomoya clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white; it was clear that this topic was sensitive to him. Amu placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come. We can't stand here and talk. We'll get run over by people." Amu led the way back to the river and forest, the two huddling close by. Amu almost snorted at how naïve the two were; they were like two clueless sheep who followed whoever was in front of them, even if it meant luring themselves into danger.

As they approached the waterfall, Amu rolled her eyes. There were still broken pieces of arrows everywhere. Amu then decided that the first thing she would do for her lesson tomorrow with Yaya was to make the novice clean up her mess. Amu threw down her knapsack, letting out a satisfied sigh as she felt the weight disappear on her shoulders. She didn't carry much inside besides the necessities like a medical pouch and a case of arrows, but it was still a load to carry. The rosette also unclipped the bow from her waist, also laying on the ground and satisfied that she no longer had a heavy weight that banged against her thighs with each step she took. She supposed that if Yaya ever needed to work on stamina, Amu would make her walk around with her bow strapped to her waist. The last thing that Amu took off was her cloak; she was getting to the point where even the heat was too much for her to handle. With everything off, Amu sat down, motioning for the two children to take a seat as well.

"Do you want to talk?"

"No." Tomoya shook his head stubbornly, and Mizuki seemed unsure of herself.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it. Daijoubu, I won't bite." Amu promised.

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Yosh - All right!/Okay!/Let's go!**

**Ja/Ja ne - See you later**

**Nee-san - Older sister**

**Nii-san - Older brother**

**Dangos - Dumplings**

**Daijoubu- Don't worry**

****{_Edit 08.22.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	7. Aka Village vs Murasaki Village

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 7: Aka Village vs. Murasaki Village**

**{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Daijoubu, I won't bite."<p>

Tomoya glanced at his little sister, and she gave him an encouraging nod. He returned the nod before turning back to face the older girl.

"Okay, Amu nee-san."

He gave a soft sigh before sitting down crossed-legged and in front of the rosette, Mizuki doing the same. "Our village, the Aka Village was well known for our harvest season. We always had plenty of rice even in the winters, so it was really no problem even in the hardest of times."

"Village? The nearest village is at least five days travel. You guys came all the way from there?" Amu scrunched her nose. Even with her speed, it would've at least taken her two and a half days travel to get to the nearest village from this town. Amu didn't even want to know how long it took the two children to get to Seiyo.

"More or less," Tomoyo shrugged, then continued, "the Aka Village's ally is the Murasaki Village. The two villages had bonded together to become one team when the East Villages had attacked the West Villages. We had won the war. Our payment towards the Murasaki Village would be rice and plentiful crops whenever no harvest would grow in their village."

Amu gave a slight nod every now and then to show that she was listening carefully and paying attention. After seeing each gesture, Tomoya continued with his story. "But then an unfortunate event happened; our own allies had tricked us. Mizuki and I overheard our parents talking one night about how the Murasaki Village had teamed up with one of the East Villages just so their village would be safe from the war. They tricked our village into thinking they were our friends.

"But then one month after everything that was destroyed in our village was reconstructed, they attacked. This time the East Villages had truly summoned their real warriors. The warriors we had fought were nothing but weaklings. It was part of their plan."

"They overthrew our Village, forcing little survivors to leave. Our family was one of the lucky few survivors. Our parents both used to be warriors, but ever since Mizuki was born, they quit their jobs. We made it out of the borderline safe, but we were too stupid. We set up a campsite deep in the forest not too far from the borderline hoping to lose the enemies that were going after the escaped villagers. We thought that we would be safe because the trees were thick and would hide and shelter us."

Amu's eyes widened as she listened. They were lucky, she realized, because she knew it must've been hard to survive on your own, not to mention protecting your children and spouse at the same time. However, Amu had to shake her head slightly in disappointment at their parents' carless planning. They were warriors, so they were supposed to be aware of their surroundings and plan carefully to avoid any dangers to themselves and their comrades; it was basic warrior training and instincts.

"Our parents told us that they were going to the nearby stream to refill our canteens. They gave us a warning to take notice of our surroundings and that if they weren't back within ten minutes, we should leave the campsite and head north with or without them."

_"Tomoya-kun."_

_"Hai, Tousan?"_

_His father's deep cerulean eyes gazed intensely into his son's own blue eyes._

_"Kaasan and I are going to refill our bottles. Please take care of your sister while we're gone. We'll be back in five minutes."_

_"Hai!"_

_"Tomoya-kun, we promise we'll come back. But... If unfortunate things happen, please keep going north if we aren't back within five minutes."_ _His mother's normally soothing, calm voice was slightly weak, but Tomoya knew why; they were in danger._

_"K-kaasan.."_ _Tomoya gave his parents a pleading look that told them to hurry back and to be careful._

Tomoya's jaw clenched tightly and his body stiffened as he spoke of their parents. Mizuki covered a sob with one hand and squeezed her eyes shut at the memory. Amu gave her a light pat on the head to give her comfort while she placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder. He relaxed slightly at her touch.

_"Ne, nii-san?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"When will Okaasan and Otousan be back?"_

_Tomoya gave a light prod at the crackling fire with a nearby tree branch before turning around to face his younger sister. He stared deep into her eyes before giving her grin and thumbs up._

_"Kaasan and Tousan will be back in a minute!"_ _Keeping the fake smile plastered on his fragile face, he knew deep in his heart his parents will never show up once more. It had passed five – no, _ten_ – minutes already. His heart sank and his stomach churned at the uneasy sight of the little girl giving a preppy nod at her brother. Her cornflower eyes were shining bright with hope and anticipation._

_Unfortunately, Tomoya knew he couldn't play his little charades any longer. He had to tell Mizuki the truth sooner or later. Glancing up at the setting sky, he gave a silent nod to himself and pulled an onigiri out from his knapsack; the family was going to have them for lunch before the ambush had happened. Tomoya handed one to Mizuki wordlessly as he unwrapped his own and began to think. After finishing his food in less than five bites, he wiped his mouth and turned to his sister who was still savoring the food._

_"Mizuki... I-it's been more than five minutes already. We should move on."_ _Trying to keep the stinging tears from falling to his face, he shut his eyes and let his head dangle down. He was afraid to watch his sister crumble and fall over the loss of their parents. To his surprise, he didn't hear any crying sounds. Looking up curiously, he saw Mizuki's cornflower eyes sealed shut. Tears streaked down her pale cheeks, but she refused to whimper out loud._ _"Mizu –"_

_"Uso.. Usotsuki!" _

_Taken back at her sudden outburst, Tomoya furrowed his eyebrows. "Na-nani?"_

_"You lied to me! You told me Okaasan and Otousan will be back! You _promised _me! I hate you!"_

_The little girl stormed to her bag and pulled it over her shoulders. She also began to grab her parents' bags as well, teetering a little at the heavy burden on her little four-year-old body. Tomoya frowned, slight hurt in his eyes, but kicked dirt over the bonfire to put the flames out and ran to catch up with his angry sister nonetheless._

Amu's eyes darted back and forth between the two siblings. Tomoya's head hung down while Mizuki stared at her brother with obvious guilt in her eyes. No one said anything, and Amu didn't dare to interrupt the silence at the moment. Then it was Mizuki's timid voice that broke through.

"I didn't mean it. At all. I was only angry and upset that Okaasan and Otousan had been killed. I don't hate you at all nii-san. If anything, I'm proud of you." Tomoya's cheeks flared at the compliment, but he cocked his head in bewilderment. It was then Mizuki's turn to flush. She twiddled her index fingers before speaking softly. "You tried to lie to me so you could protect me from the truth."

Tomoya gave her a sheepish grin before he was engulfed in a choking embrace. A frown suddenly replaced his grin as he reluctantly pulled away from his sister.

"Mizuki, there's something I had kept away from you all this time though."

"Hue?"

"The people who killed Kaasan and Tousan weren't from the Murasaki Village."

Amu's eyes calculated Mizuki's face, searching for any sign of emotion. Her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open in shock.

"It was actually our people from the Aka Village."

_Tomoya's eyes snapped open as he heard a crunching sound. He whipped his head around and pulled a pocketknife out from his pocket. Trembling slightly, the young boy drew his hand out in front of him for protection. His eyes wandered over to where his sister was sleeping soundly before darting his eyes back to the direction where he had heard the sound._

"_Who's there?"_ _Mustering up as much courage as he could, he asked again louder this time when no one answered._

"_We're not here to hurt you kid, so you can put the knife away."_

_Cold sweat dripped down the boy's forehead as his knees buckled around. Instead of losing his grip on the knife, he tightened it._ "_Show yourself!"_

_The mysterious stranger let out a sigh in frustration before walking out from the silhouettes of the trees with both of his hands raised up in surrender. His two companions followed him with slight irritation on their faces. Tomoya's enemies were no older than sixteen, so he relaxed slightly._

"_Hey, he looks just like them. Do you think?"_

"_Dude, just shut up. You're scaring him to death with your stupid little smirk."_

"_Oi! Shut up! What about your long hair? What kind of guy would have long hair, and not to mention _purple _hair?"_

"_Nani!? That didn't even make sense at all."_

"_Says you, girlie!"_

"_Call me that one more time and see what happens!"_

"_Cross-dresser."_

"_Shine!"_

"_Che, how annoying."_

_Tomoya could feel an irritated aura float around the teen with midnight blue hair while the other two seemed to ignore him and continue to roll around on the ground punching and kicking each other._

"_You're from the Aka Village, am I right?"_

_Said boy from the village nodded slowly, taking a few steps back just in case the older boy decided to strike at the last moment and murder him._

"_Your parents were warriors, am I right? Your father had cerulean eyes and raven black hair while your mother had blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes. They were killed earlier this day near a stream by your own peop–"_

"_How do you know all this? Tell me! Who are you and what do you want with us?"_ _Tomoya spoke harshly with a low growl that had managed to catch the attention of the purple-haired boy and chestnut-haired boy who had stopped fighting at the sudden demand. Amused at the little boy, the one with indigo eyes smirked._

"_We were there to witness the last stab of your parents. We were too late to help them, but we were able to at least take revenge for you and kill the murderers. We're neither from the Murasaki Village nor from the Aka Village. We don't want to harm you or your sister in any way. Unfortunately, your parents were foolish to go wandering around without any weapons attached to them even if they are, excuse me, _were _warriors."_

_Irritated at the insult to his parents Tomoya's eyes flashed rage as he stood up and quickly ran to the pale stranger. Not even knowing himself what had happened, the older boy had Tomoya pinned under his left foot with his wrists caught behind his back in a flash. Trapped, the boy wriggled and thrashed around muttering such colorful words that it was hard to imagine where such a young boy had learned them from._

"_Be thankful that I have not broken your arms, gaki."_ _He whispered darkly into Tomoya's ears, as Tomoya stayed frozen in fear._

"_Enough. You're frightening the poor child."_ _The purple-haired teen sighed and tugged at his leader's arm to release the shaking boy. Said leader grunted and let go at once, causing Tomoya to fall flat on his face. The more polite comrade helped him sit up and offered a handkerchief to wipe away dirt smudges on his cheek and tears that fell freely._

"_You must've had a long night. Go to bed. We'll watch over the both of you."_

_It was shocking how Mizuki had not managed to awake from the entire racket the boys were making. It was understandable though; the poor girl had a terrifying day and needed to sleep off the pain._

"_H-how can we trust you?"_

_The chestnut-haired comrade gave a soothing smile and ruffled Tomoya's hair._ "_We won't hurt you. We killed the murders of your mom and dad right? We wouldn't have done that if we were your enemies. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll feel better about trusting us."_

_Giving the three a meek nod, Tomoya reluctantly stalked off to bed next to Mizuki. However, he fell into restless sleep for about another hour or so until one of the older boys offered him a sleeping pill._

_"It looks like you'll need it. Trust me, I know just how much you want to be knocked out right now."_

"Nani? That actually happened while I was asleep?" Mizuki gaped at her older brother while Amu was astonished as well. Midnight blue hair? Indigo eyes? How many people were there with blue hair? _Tsukiyomi Ikuto. _The comrades described in Tomoya's story also gave away that it was Nagihiko and Kukai.

"Tomoya-kun, did they ever tell you their names?"

"Iie. They never did. I was actually surprised that they kept their word about not killing us. If anything, they actually protected us until we were able to reach the nearest North Village and then disappeared one day. Do you remember that Mizuki?"

"Un. I was confused when they were following us, but then you told me you trusted them. I wish I could meet them again. Especially Purple nii-san." Mizuki giggled childishly at her remembrance of Nagihiko. There was also a faint tint of red on her cheeks and Amu realized she had a crush on him. She snorted as she thought about Rima, who seemed to have competition with a six-year-old.

Speaking of Rima, Amu mentally sighed when she remembered she had agreed to go with her to the Tsukiyomi Institute. _Mattaku_, she thought.

"Amu nee-san!"

"Hue?" Amu started, caught off guard. She scolded herself for being too deep in thoughts before turning her full attention to the boy who had called her name.

"Train us!"

"Haaah?" Amu asked, bewildered. _Not another one!_ she thought as she rolled her eyes. "Wait a minute, how do you know I can even fight?" she demanded. Amu followed Tomoya's extended index finger and realized he was then pointing at the bow resting next to her. _Shit! I forgot that they were mundanes and accidentally left my bow out!_

"You know how to use that right?"

"I–"

"Train us! Onegaishimasu, Amu nee-san!"

"But why?" Amu protested. She was not going to let two little kids play with such dangerous weapons. However, Mizuki squealed at her brother's ridiculous idea and attacked Amu in a fierce hug. The rosette let out a frustrated squeal in return and shut her eyes tight so she wouldn't have to see the begging eyes they were currently flashing at her. "But I don't specialize in warrior skills! I'm a huntress! Not a warrior!"

"Onegai! Onegai!" The two children chimed in unison, refusing to listen to Amu's argument.

"Stop! Tell me! Just…Tell me why you two would like to be trained." Amu gave up, finally opening her eyes to glance at the two siblings.

"I want to be trained so I can create world peace. The war between the East Villages and the West Villages are still going on, and slowly the West Villages are losing. If I am able to become stronger, then I will be able to form a new team and lead victory to the West Villages. It might take years and years for me to become strong, but I can wait. Even if the West Villages lose, it doesn't matter because when my team is well formed and trained, we can declare war once more and end it. I also want to avenge our parents' deaths. If the East Village had not declared war, Kaasan and Tousan would still be alive. My mission is to find peace between the two nations. I want to be able to protect the nation's citizens and rescue people from a heartbreak of losing their loved ones." Tomoya clenched his fists and gave a shocked Amu a determined smile.

Amu quirked a brow as his speech came to an end. _This kid right here, who is only ten-years-old, would risk his own life to learn how to fight and learn skills just so he could protect his own sister and so he could create world peace between nations,_ she thought.

"It is my goal; my one and only goal that I wish to accomplish. I _will not _allow myself to die until it actually does happen. So please, Amu nee-san. Teach us whatever you know!"

Bowing my head down, Amu gave a hidden smirk. "Your story has inspired me, Tomoya-kun. It's very admirable, I'll admit. Because I see so much potential in you and have so much confidence in you, I'll have my friend teach you the skills of a warrior and have my other friend teach Mizuki-chan a few basic health and medical skills so she can nurse whoever is in need of help. I will also teach Mizuki-chan the basic knowledge of bowman skills so she will be able to defend herself when necessary."

"H-hotoni, Amu nee-san?" Mizuki swallowed the tears she shed from earlier when she had heard Tomoya's mission and beamed at Amu. In return, the bowmaster gave her a nod and reached down to ruffle her hair. She gave the vamp a squeak before attacking her in another hug. This time, she pulled Tomoya into the embrace as well. "Arigatou Amu nee-san! Hotoni arigatou!"

The two children gave Amu a watery laugh before squeezing her into another choking hug. Amu laughed softly, inspired by Tomoya's courage and their happiness. However, if Amu were to get Rima and Yaya's help in training, that meant she had to make new bargains. _I suppose I can somehow bribe Yaya into helping me. And maybe I'll make Rima only do one solo mission for me and help me train these kids instead. Yeah, that sounds doable. _Amu gave them another bright smile as she watched them bounce and chase each other around with newfound happiness.

**"It is my goal; my one and only goal that I wish to accomplish. I will not allow myself to die until it actually does happen."**

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><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Uso - That's a lie**

**Usotsuki! - Liar!**

**Shine! - Die!**

**Gaki - Kid/Brat**

**Mattaku - How annoying/troublesome**

**Onegaishimasu - Please**

**Hotoni - Seriously/Really**

**{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	8. A New Challenge Awaits

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 8: A New Challenge Awaits**

**{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Oh, no no! We're not going to get caught! Don't worry Amu! Yeah right!" Amu retorted sarcastically and rubbed her wrists as the two vamps were released from the shackles that chained their ankles and wrists to the dungeon walls. Rima ignored her friend completely and immediately ran towards the caged window.<p>

The gloomy clouds had decided that a few hours earlier would be the perfect time to cast a downpour. In fact, Amu was almost certain the Rain Gods had showered them and their bad luck to tease them for getting caught so easily.

Amu watched as Rima stood on her tiptoes, barely reaching the height of the window and stuck her hand out to catch a few raindrops. After a few seconds of silence, she withdrew her hands and turned to face her partner in crime. "Is it possible to control rain?"

Amu choked on her own spit and widened her eyes at her friend. Was her friend teasing her? Controlling rain? She snorted. "Ha ha, very funny Rima. Stop joking around and let's try to get out of here already."

"Iie, I'm serious Amu. The rain feels different than usual. It feels... heavier. There's a such thing as mage vamps, I believe..."

Amu gave her best friend another snort and ignored her as she tried to pull open the worn-out dungeon door. It was locked shut, and judging by the tiny locks along the doorknob, the guards had every single one fastened shut just in case they tried to escape. _Bastards,_ Amu thought but didn't say out loud. "Who the hell has a dungeon in their institute anyways?" This, however, was voiced out loud.

Amu growled and tugged on the heavy door once more; not a single budge happened. She scratched her head as she backed away. Although worn out, the door seemed to be in good condition if even a vamp like Amu couldn't pull it apart.

"Who knows? Ikuto's probably twisted that way," Rima muttered as she turned away from the window. It seemed she had put away her thought about rain control and finally focused on the door. She lightly pushed her friend aside and gave a try at the door herself.

"What the fu–" Rima scowled and took a few steps back. She then slid into a defense stance and pushed off the balls of her feet. As she approached the door, she jumped and kicked her leg out, intending to smash through the door. She was greeted with a throbbing foot while lying on the floor instead.

"Gyahh!" She screamed as she hugged her foot to her chest. Amu gave a low whistle, eyeing the door that did not even brandish one scratch from Rima's herculean strength.

"It's the rain, I swear," Rima muttered through gritted teeth as she stood up and once again picked up her leg to slam it against the door. Nothing happened, except a few loose rubble falling from the ceiling. Rima once again bounced around on one foot, holding her throbbing one in her hand.

"Give it up. It's clearly not going to open." Amu gave her hurt friend a wry smirk before returning to the bench at the back of the room. She plopped down, waiting for her friend to stop toying with the door and join her.

Once Rima was done muttering quite some colorful words – courtesy of Utau – and was sitting down next to defeated rosette, she gave her a look.

"What?"

"I swear to Kami-sama, the weather is the reason to all this!"

Amu rolled her eyes. "Stop blaming the weather. It has nothing to do with your two throbbing legs."

"It was all sunshine this morning, so how the hell do you explain this?" Rima argued back hotly. "We probably wouldn't have gotten caught if you hadn't sneezed, anyways," Rima muttered darkly as she changed the subject.

"I swear someone was talking about me!"

_"Yaya nee-san! When will Amu nee-san be back from her mission?"_

_Tomoya demanded as he caught sight of the ribbon-haired girl. It had been about three days since the two siblings met Amu and two days since Amu had begged Rima and Yaya to help the three of them out. Reluctantly, the two vamps agreed. As of now, Tomoya and Mizuki lived in a small apartment in the town that Amu had rented out._

_"Amu-chi will be back soon, kid. Just stay inside the hotel room with your sister. I've brought some sushi for breakfast."_

"Where are you going?"

Amu ignored Rima's cry and walked towards the door. She banged on it a couple of times before realizing that no one was going to come. The small window secured by metal bars on the door gave the rosette an opportunity to glance around.

"Oi! I need to pee dammit! Let me out!"

Rima gave her comrade an amused giggle before getting up to join her at the door. Another shout from Rima demanding they let them out had no effect.

"Dammit! Tsukiyomi, you jerk! Let us out!" Amu gave another demand before finally hearing footsteps walking down the dungeon stairs.

"Oh my god. You guys are loud and annoying! Urusai already, mou!"

A redhead – Rima and Amu secretly made a bet that her hair was dyed – with sharp green eyes came towards them and glowered at the trespassers.

"Let us out," Rima demanded.

"As if." The girl snorted and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Let us out, or I'm going to snap your neck in half!" Rima threated as she reached her hand out to grab the girl by her purple button down shirt. She let out a surprised gasp as she was slammed against the door.

"As if you could even do anything to me even if I let you out of here. Haven't you dummies noticed? You're not nearly half as strong as you're supposed to be," the vamp spoke in breathy whispers. She narrowed her eyes as if to demand Rima to let go of her.

"What?" Rima growled. "What do you know?"

"Listen. Don't you hear the sound of rain? Kami-sama, you two are dumb. Haven't you realized that it was sunny this morning and now it's suddenly raining? Rain spell, idiots!" The vamp rolled her eyes. "And you underestimate me, Shrimp. Get your dirty hands off Yamabuki Saaya, Ikuto-kun's future wife." With a quick flash, Saaya was suddenly out of Rima's grasp and away from the door. The redhead gave another warning glare before walking back up the staircase, leaving the two vamps alone once more.

For the next thirty minutes, the two of them could do nothing but sit and mope. Just when Amu thought she was going to go insane, her ears caught sound. "Someone's coming."

Rima scrambled away from the door only to run smack into Amu, who was standing behind her. Letting out a few curse words, Amu rubbed the sore spot on her nose.

"Why did you stand there?" Rima hissed, rubbing her forehead.

"Well if you haven't noticed, this room is the size of a freaking bathroom stall!"

Rima gave Amu a warning glare to shut up and to act natural as they heard footsteps clomping down the stairs.

"I don't have time to deal with them. I still have to find someone to clean up the damn mess Souma made in the spar area. And I also need to finish discussing details with Hotori as well. Whoever these people are, are going to be sorry they even stepped foot on my property."

"M-masaka," Amu whispered, eyes going wide at the sound of the voice. Noticing her reaction, Rima slapped her hand over Amu's mouth to quiet her.

"Yamabuki!"

"Hai, Ikuto-kun?"

He gave a low sigh before answering. "Don't call me that. Take me to the trespassers."

"Ah! Gomen Ikuto-sama! Right this way!"

"I hate you sooooo much for making me come with you!" Amu hissed out to Rima. The cell door then unsealed and swung open to reveal Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

"Hn. Hinamori and Mashiro. Never thought the day would come when you two would become my prisoners. Wait until Utau finds out about this."

Turning her head straight, Amu grimaced as her eyes locked with his eyes. Honey orbs widened at the disheveled vamp in front of her. Ikuto's normally indigo eyes were now replaced with bloody red orbs that had a glazed coat of lust over them. He had dark circles that rimmed his eyes, proving that he had an even worse sleeping schedule than Amu did. His midnight blue hair was tousled and messy, like he had recently barely made it out of a battle alive. His eyes, although glazed, still gave off the smoldering and mesmerizing look he was famous for. It was obvious he was blood deprived and under stress.

"Like what you see?" Ikuto questioned, his lips set in a firm line.

Amu snapped out of her thoughts and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't be so arrogant. It's not cute. And you look like you're in dire need of help."

"What should I do with these two pests, Ikuto-sama?"

After a few seconds of a pregnant pause, he spoke up. "Nothing as of now. Send them to the den, and make them a drink. I will meet up with them after I take care of some quick business."

Saaya looked like she was going to protest, but instead, bowed deeply after Ikuto gave her a dangerous glare. Without giving the two girls another look, he stalked away back up the stairs.

Saaya bared her fangs at the Hoshina vamps before leading the way up the stairs. The trio took quite a few turns every now and then until they ended up in one of the dens in the institute.

Amu always knew Ikuto was some sort of billionaire, so the size of the room didn't really faze her at all; he was the Vampire Prince of the Tsukiyomi Clan after all.

The living room was surprisingly bright for a vampire's comfort, but warm nonetheless. It was still storming outside (although the rain seemed to be letting up, courtesy of Saaya), but the crackling fire in the fireplace kept the entire room warm. The room itself showed how expensive this institute must've cost; red velvet window curtains framed the four tall windows that surrounded every corner of the room, a sleek, white grand piano sat at one corner while a sliding door to the balcony occupied another corner. In what seemed to be the front of the room was the fireplace generously feeding us warmth while the newest LCD plasma screen TV hung above it.

Rima and Amu took a seat on one of the many plush dark blue loveseats that was arranged in a square facing the TV with a wooden coffee table placed in the center. Saaya informed them that drinks were on the way and ignored the vamps when they protested against any refreshments that were to be brought out to them. She just rolled her eyes and sulked her way towards a door to the left of the room, which Amu assumed led to the kitchen.

Rima and Amu glanced around in an awkward silence until Saaya returned with three mugs with some sort of liquid inside. She placed two of them in front of Amu and Rima on a coaster with a loud and angry _thunk_,but placed the last mug across from them with ease.

The two Hoshina vamps didn't dare touch their drinks, cautious that Saaya might've "accidentally" slipped some kind of poison in since she was the one who brought the drinks to them. Considering she was also the one who brought Ikuto's drink, there was a slight chance that she didn't even bother to put drugs in any of the mugs. But one is never too cautious; for she may have slipped something in our liquids while she left Ikuto's alone.

"So let me get this straight: if you're Tsukiyomi's future Vampire Princess – " Amu couldn't help but notice the oozing sarcasm from Rima's voice, "– then enlighten me as to why he acknowledges you like a maid."

Saaya grimaced slightly at Rima's smirk but quickly collected herself and narrowed her eyes. "If I want to be Ikuto-kun's future wife, then I have to be a good hostess to his guests. What I _don't _understand," she sneered, "is why you two street vamps are even guests to him!"

Just when Amu was about to tell her off about calling them "street" vamps, a soft, velvety voice growled out.

"I wouldn't _dare_ make you my _bride _even if you were the _last_ vampire alive. With your lack of skills in being a good hostess, you cannot even _pass _to become a Lady. Get out of my sight before I make you my punching bag, Yamabuki."

Amu shuddered slightly at the coldness of his voice while Saaya trembled. After being dismissed, she couldn't leave fast enough; she had tripped on her feet just a few inches out the door.

Ikuto sighed and ran a hand through his untamed locks. He crossed the room and sat down across from the two guests all while reaching for the mug and downing the liquid in two gulps. "Sorry about that. She's a handful, and I don't know what I was thinking when I recruited her in the clan. It's water with a blood tablet mixed together, if that's what you're wondering what it is." He muttered and gave them a minuscule smile as he gestured towards the drink.

Not wanting to be rude, Amu hesitantly picked up the drink and took a sip. He was right; water fused with a blood tablet that gave off a taste of blood type AB. It didn't exactly taste horrible or good either, but when vampires traveled with no food sources available near them, this was what kept them sane.

"Amuse me. Tell me why you two would even dare set foot on my compound."

"I wish to speak with Nagihiko," Rima demanded right off the bat.

"Unfortunately, Fujisaki is not available at the moment," Ikuto responded without missing a beat.

Rima's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where is he?"

"He's out training as of now. Either that or he's somewhere off with that idiot Souma."

"Fine. Then we'll go find him ourselves."

Just as Rima stood up, Ikuto spoke out. "Have you forgotten that you two are my prisoners? Not only are you my enemies since you are from my dear little sister's clan, but you are also trespassers who have been sneaking around. I'm afraid you two will be going nowhere."

Amu jumped a bit as Rima slammed her palms onto the coffee table, spilling both of their drinks. A nearby maid immediately rushed over to pick up the mugs and wipe the table clean. Amu tugged on Rima's sleeve and forced her to sit down.

"Please, Ikuto. We didn't mean to. We weren't even sneaking around! We were going to go straight to you to ask if we can speak with Nagihiko." Amu gave him a pleading look, but it didn't seem like the Tsukiyomi was going to buy her story.

"You always play with your hair when you lie, Amu," Ikuto muttered.

Amu wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear, but to her surprise, she was twirling a lock of her pink hair around her fingers. She quickly unhooked her finger from the curl and tried to stray her attention away from Rima who was seething in quiet anger. Wait, h_ow did Ikuto know…?_ Amu thought, confused.

"I'll make a deal with you two," Ikuto finally said.

"Proceed," Rima said.

"It's been a while since I've had fun."

"You're sick." Rima snarled, and Amu choked on her spit.

"You're the pervert thinking wrong. And that's not what I meant." Ikuto gave them an eye roll and ignored Rima's death glare. "What I'm trying to say is I want to see the two of you spar each other."

"What's the purpose of that?" Amu interrupted.

"I just want to see who's stronger."

"What happens if one of us loses?"

"Nothing really," Ikuto drawled out, accepting a new mug the maid had brought out. He swirled it around before taking a sip. Amu sniffed the air, and realized that there was a drop of scotch mixed in as well. She scoffed lightly; alcohol and vamps did not mix well just like how it didn't mix well with mundanes.

"You'll let both of us go even if one of us loses?"

"Aa, but there's a catch – "

"Of course," Rima interrupts, narrowing her eyes.

"Even if one of you lose, I'll set you both free, but only if the two of you are able to defeat Kukai and Nagihiko."

"I don't want to fight them. I want to just punch you in the face as of right now." Rima groaned, having had enough of Ikuto and his silly mind games.

"It wouldn't be fair if I were to place myself in the spar; you two will be dead in an instant."

"Let's not get too cocky, Tsukiyomi." Rima rolled her eyes and mumbled through her clenched jaw. Her hands clenched onto the hem of the tangerine orange dress she was wearing. She was gripping the cloth so tight that her knuckles turned an ugly shade of white.

"It's the truth, Mashiro. So are you two going to do it?"

After locking eyes with Rima for a second, Amu knew that their minds were already made up. If it meant escaping this place and somehow satisfying Rima with her chance to speak with Nagihiko, Amu was game. Besides, she wanted to see how up to par her abilities were against Rima, Kukai, and Nagihiko.

"Aa. We're in," Rima said with a firm nod.

"I'll send you guys back to your place so you can get your necessities, but no pills. Just to be safe, I'm making Yamabuki cast a chain spell on the both of you. Just one thought about escaping and you'll receive ten seconds worth of shock. You also can't go far with the chain spell cast on you. You're only able to reach your compound and back."

They nodded silently as they watched Saaya give them a glare and mumble some spell underneath her breath. After she bowed to Ikuto and left, there was nothing different Amu felt about herself even after the chain spell. She also realized then that Saaya was a mage vamp, someone who learned and fought with spells.

"You may leave. See you tomorrow, and may the stronger vampire win. Oh, and if you mention anything of what happened today to anyone, I'll make sure to see you in hell." With that Ikuto stood up and left the room in a mere flicker.

A few maids showed the girls to the foyer and they exited the institute in silence.

"Amu?"

"Aa?" Amu glanced down at her petite friend.

"I'm gonna beat your ass tomorrow."

"Che. Not without your warrior pills you won't."

With a smirk on each girls' face, the two dashed off.

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><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Kami-sama - God**

**Urusai - Shut up**

**Mou - Geeze**

**{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	9. Let's Get Down To Business Pt 1

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 9: Let's Get Down To Business Part 1****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Tadaima!" Amu calls out as she shuts the door and shakes off water droplets from her cloak. The rain had finally stopped a few minutes after Rima and she left the Tsukiyomi compound.<p>

"Amu-chi! Where did you go? They kept pestering me all morning. You wouldn't believe some of the things the brats even did to me. The little brats put gum in my hair!"

Amu arches an eyebrow elegantly as she listens to Yaya rant. Amu doesn't believe innocent Mizuki would be one to do a practical joke; on the other hand, the huntress vamp could totally envision Tomoya chomping on gum and secretly lodging it in the medic vamp's locks while flashing a somewhat evil grin. How he managed to do so is puzzlement, since vampires are always alert and aware of their surroundings. But knowing Yaya, she could totally be oblivious when and if an explosion even occurred right in front of her eyes.

Yaya groaned and snuck a glance at Tomoya and Mizuki who were suspiciously slumped on the couch. Amu sighed and walked over to them. "Please tell me you didn't knock them out."

"Pffft. As much as I wish I could, I didn't." The caramel-haired girl giggles nervously and waves her hand around as if saying there was nothing to worry about. The pinkette gives her a look, and Yaya responds by rolling her eyes. "They're just napping Amu-chi. Chill!"

Amu decides to check on them just in case, because with Yaya around, you'll never know what might've happened. Amu places a hand on each of their foreheads, and their temperature hasn't risen or fallen and they were breathing normally. Yaya shoots Amu an "I told you so!" look which she ignores.

"Yaya, I'm going on another mission tomorrow. I need you to watch them for me."

"Na-nani? How come? Utau-tan hasn't even been assigning missions since forever! Where are you going?" Yaya demands.

"Onegai Yaya! Watch them for me one more time." The fourteen-year-old pleads, but the younger one doesn't crack; she crosses her arms instead and narrows her eyes even more.

"Fine." After a few quick seconds of silence, Yaya finally agrees, "but you have to pay me back for the breakfast, lunch, and dinner they leech off of me. I'm going broke from no mission money and from feeding them while you're gone."

"Fine, fine! Whatever it takes. I'm already paying for their stay here anyways."

Yaya nods and Amu quickly bids her a farewell and thank you before leaving the hotel. She knew Yaya was slightly annoyed to play babysitter, but there was no other choice; neither of the three Hoshina vamps wanted the children to know that they were vampires and were often called away on missions.

The pinkette slips through crowds in the town as she tries her best not to bump into anyone as she skillfully weaves in and out of a crowd that was watching street performers.

As Amu entered the abandoned hotel, a flash of blond whizzes by and pink vamp suddenly finds herself sprawled on the floor.

"Is there something you're in need of, Utau-sama?" Amu breathes in and out a couple times to calm herself down. Utau laughs her bubbly laugh and helps Amu stand up.

"Have you seen Yaya?"

"Not exactly," Amu murmurs careful to not get caught, "why?"

"I decided to finally take time off my busy schedule and train her to become a better medic."

"Aa, well I haven't exactly seen her. Excuse me Utau-sama." Amu tries to push herself through Utau so she could pack for tomorrow's spar.

"Where are you going Amu?" Utau's cheerfulness is suddenly gone, and a serious look now stands in its place. If anything, Amu wondered if the head vampire was bipolar.

"I'm going to go spar with Rima tomorrow, and I wish to prepare." Amu chooses her words carefully so she can mold it into a sentence that wasn't particularly a lie. Utau eyes her suspiciously before flicking her wrist and muttering a quick "hn." But in Utaunese, that meant "okay, I don't give a shit anymore so go".

"Excuse me, Utau-sama." Amu gives the Vampire Princess a small bow before running back into the room she shared with Rima.

After stuffing a medical pack and five cases of arrow, Amu is ready for the spar. The pinkette reaches under the pillow and carefully pulls her sacred bow from underneath. There was only one more thing to prepare for tomorrow, and that was getting a good night's energy supply. Coincidentally, it was Rima's and hers turn to go out for the night.

Amu shrugged off her wet cloak and threw it over her shoulder carelessly as she went to her closet to grab a royal blue one in place of the wet one she had thrown across the room. The pink-haired vampire clasped the single button around her neck and padded her way over to her dresser table. She ran a comb through her locks that had tangled and clumped together because of the rain before pulling a small drawer open and sweeping her wet bangs on top of her head and locking them in place with an x design clip.

Glancing one last time in the antique mirror, Amu gave a soft sigh before stalking out of her room, slamming her door in the process. She didn't feel the desire of hunting with Rima today, knowing that the wheat-haired warrior vampire would make finding victims a competition as well; the petite vampire was unfortunately very competitive in everything.

A few hours after hunting around, the rosette was fully charged with rich honey eyes that seemed to sparkled. She had hunted at least ten and made room for five more so she could be fully charged tomorrow. She had also run into Rima along the way. They gave each other a small curt nod before parting ways and attending to their own business. They had both thought the same thing: it was best to not get as friendly with each other before the match.

After a quick shower and running over her mental check-list to see if she had everything prepared for tomorrow, Amu decided to meditate for half an hour before turning in and getting a full rest.

It was now the next day, barely seven in the morning and the two girls were now flash-jumping their way to the compound. Rima and Amu kept quiet to themselves as they were escorted through the dim hallway. The hallway there would connect to an outdoor field where the space was large enough to hold a spar. It was supposed to be a cool day where the sun shone brightly and the sky was a clear blue with a few fluffy clouds; perfect weather for a good spar.

"Right this way Hinamori-san, Mashiro-san."

The two girls nodded and stayed close to the maid as she turned corner after corner and unlocking several doors as they made their way through. Gritting her teeth in slight irritation, Rima clenched her fists and took deep breathes to calm herself down. She was just seconds away from yelling at the top of her lungs and throwing the maid through a wall. It wasn't as if she was nervous or anything, it was the fact that it took nearly three minutes to walk around and enter door after door which only led to _another _damn hallway. It might've also been the fact that she was a tiny bit nervous.

"We have arrived. The fighting arena is ready for the two of you. Tsukiyomi-sama has requested everyone from the clan to watch you two fight."

Amu stiffened, but tried to shake away her thoughts. There couldn't possibly be more than ten people right? Even Amu knew there would be more than ten people. At most, there could possibly be even a hundred clan members, as Utau had once mentioned.

As the two girls stepped through the door, Amu grimaced as she looked around everywhere. Everywhere she turned to look, there were Ikuto's vampires cheering impatiently for the match to begin. Rima swallowed uneasily and kept clenching and unclenching her fists, slightly nervous.

The field was just as big as they were told. The outdoor arena was about the size of a football field and the field was enclosed by a circular stone wall that was higher than most towers Amu had ever seen. All around the stone wall were holes carved hollow so there could be an audience to watch and still be safe from the fight since they would be seated up high. The ground of the arena was like any regular training field with a layer of dusty earth covering the floor. There was also a large corner filled with bushes and trees for hiding and using surprise attacks; basically a mini forest.

"Glad to see you two here."

The two girls snapped out of their astonishment and turned to face Ikuto clad in navy pants with a few bandages wrapped around his left thigh holding what looked like a holster or pouch, a short navy top and high collar with the usual Tsukiyomi cross in the front, and a split cape on his back. He also sported long navy blue gloves on both hands; the only different appearance on his right glove was that there were metal claws attached on it. On his feet were his normal black sneakers that had a steel bottom attached for more damage points.

"Well, everyone seems to be impatient for the spar to happen," Ikuto drawled and gave both of them a smirk.

"Are you two ready?"

"Hell yeah!"

Amu arched her eyebrows at Rima's fierce determination.

"This will be one interesting fight. May the best one win. And don't forget you still have to fight my boys as well." Ikuto added and gave one last smirk before jumping up towards the audience space. But of course since he _is _the Vampire Prince, he gets his own space with Kukai and Nagihiko sitting next to him.

"Good luck Rima." Amu stared at her friend and while Rima stared back.

"Good luck Amu."

After giving each other a faint nod, they both walked towards the center of the stage where one of Ikuto's vampire stood in a slouched manner, waiting for the two of them.

"Hinamori Amu. Mashiro Rima. This match will possibly lead to several injuries and even death if possible. I will be the judge of when the battle comes to an end and who will be the winner. Begin!"

The proctor gave each of the girls a nod before jumping out of their way and landing on a shady tree. Amu immediately jumped a few feet back, just in case Rima decided to charge at her with her sword. Rima narrowed her eyes before pulling out her own orange sword. The metal blade was a metallic shade of orange with white rims while the hilt of the sword was a white jasmine flower.

Amu knows she has advantage since she's a far-ranged shooter while Rima is vulnerable to close-range combat. Testing her distance away from Rima, she draws an arrow and shoots it. The arrow flies through the air and when it loses momentum, it lands on the floor only a few inches away from Rima.

"Nine feet," Amu murmurs to herself. The warrior vampire doesn't say anything, but quickly jumps back another ten feet and hides behind a few trees so she can think. Rima shuts her eyes and begins to recall back to the last time they had a spar. If it weren't for the warrior pills she had secretly swallowed in between the fight, Rima would've lost badly.

When swallowed, warrior pills give you a burst of energy and stamina to last you another five hours without losing much energy. Warrior pills help you move faster and give you more strength during a fight.

_'Nineteen feet. If I move any closer, it would give Rima a chance to attack me,' _Amu thinks ahead, and tries to find out what's possible and what's not possible. _'And not to mention my arrows won't go as far if I don't move.'_

Amu gives herself a curt nod and grabs a few senbons from a small holster strapped onto her left thigh with a few bandages. With Rima oblivious to what's happening beyond the tree, Amu decides now was the best time to test another theory. With a skilled flick of her wrist, the three senbons**(1)** whizzes through the air and embeds itself onto the tree trunk Rima was hiding behind with three sharp wood-hitting sounds. Amu hears a startled gasp, and smirks to herself. Theory proven to be correct.

"Come out, Rima, or this match won't be fun." Amu drawled teasingly and slightly giggled to herself, adrenaline pumping through her body.

Behind the trees, Rima scowled and cursed herself for letting a gasp escape her lips. She had just let her opponent know she was surprised from the sudden senbon attack! Deciding that she had enough resources from previous spars with Amu, she emerges herself from behind the tree, sword in hand and ready to charge any moment.

"Ah, so you finally show yourself."

"Enough with the talk. Let's get this spar started."

Giving each other a curt nod, the two charged towards each other. Amu whipped out an arrow and was about to shoot it using _Double Arrow_, but she had to quickly jump in the air to avoid getting stabbed in the abdomen from Rima's sword. Amu somersaulted in the air and landed on her feet behind Rima, quickly shuffling back a few steps and releasing the arrow. The arrow had multiplied into five and sliced towards Rima. Rima gave a scowl and blocked all four with her sword. She had even managed to grab one in mid-air and send it flying back towards Amu. Bow in hand, Amu blocked her own arrow and sent it flying to the ground, shattered in half.

Watching each other carefully, they both imitated each other's moves, both of them jumping backwards at the same time.

"You seem to be getting frustrated, Rima! Is it because you didn't take your pills?" Amu taunted her opponent and laughed as Rima let a small growl escape her lips. Shifting her weight to the balls of her feet, she began to charge towards Amu once more. Caught off guard at the sudden speed Rima was traveling in, Amu let out a surprised squeak and tried to jump out of the way from the swinging sword. To Amu's dismay, the attack had left her a gash across her forearm, ripping part of her sleeve. Amu cursed under her breath as she bounced away and hid behind a few trees.

Panting heavily, the girl frowned and touched her injured arm delicately. The wound wasn't as deep, so it wouldn't be too hard to heal. Thinking back to when Yaya had been complaining her head off about Utau not teaching her new medical skills, Amu had once heard Yaya tell her how to heal any small injuries like a cut or sprained arm. Amu thanked Yaya silently for teaching her how to focus your raw energy at the tips of your fingertips. Concentrating hard, Amu did what Yaya had informed her, and a soft lilac energy glowed from her fingertips. She pressed the energy into her wound and was astounded to see the gash close on its own and as fast as the cut was attained, the opening was closed and there was no sign of any injury.

There was still a tingling feeling of numbness, but it was better than having an open wound and pain ripple through your body. A rip was still on Amu's short sleeve, kimono-like plain blouse with a dark embroidered border with loose sleeves, held closed with a blood red obi**(2) **however. Amu also sported an ebony black skirt with equally as dark stockings that stopped at her thighs and black biker boots that reached her calves; this was her normal fighting outfit whenever she was on missions or having a spar with a few friends, not to mention it was totally comfortable and easy to move in.

Rima's outfit consists of a single light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment (which looked like a sweatshirt too large for her size) that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. She also wore fishnet as spandex, a few inches peeking out from the garment and white tank top straps can be seen on her shoulders. On her feet were navy blue sandals with kitten heels connected with shin guards ending right below her knees and a black fingerless glove on her right hand; most likely the glove giving comfort to her wrist from always using it to attack with her sword.

Before Amu could process what was happening, the tree she was leaning against was broken in half, Rima kicking right through it with a battle cry emerging from her lips. Amu gasped and back flipped away from the mess while Rima was getting up from landing on her knees. It was no surprise that in order to become a warrior, you had to have the time to train for strength, and not just regular strength. You had to have enough commitment to go training every day in order to obtain your superhuman strength and be able to punch at the ground causing a huge crater to form and be able to break your opponent's jaw by just giving it a punch. It was hard work, but Rima was dedicated enough to achieve her strength no less than a month after first becoming a warrior. If Amu hadn't been friends with the blonde warrior since forever, she would've definitely hit herself for underestimating Rima's strength because of her petite size frame.

And to prove everyone in the audience wrong, Rima let out another battle cry before lifting her left leg and slamming her heel down on the ground to cause a huge rumble and the ground to shatter. Amu was thrown off balance as a wave of quake hit her, sending her flying in the air and landing painfully on her side.

_'I should've seen that coming,' _Amu thought sourly as she picked herself up and wiped away the tiny drool of blood that trickled down her chin from when she bit her tongue when she was hit. _'Fine, you wanna play that way?'_

Amu's hand curled around two round balls inside her senbon holster (careful to not poke herself with any of the needles) and quickly threw the black balls towards Rima. Rima's eyes widened, but she didn't have enough time to react when a sudden explosion of thick black smoke formed around her and half the arena when the balls hit the ground. She let out tiny coughs and covered her nose and mouth with the inside of her elbow. It didn't help, since she was still coughing harshly and her eyes were watering, blurring her sight. The black clouds were too thick to even see what was happening around her.

She let out a sudden bloodcurdling scream as she felt two sharp pains in her back. It took her a few more stabs before she realized Amu was throwing senbons at her and taking advantage of the smoke bombs. There were now a total of fifteen senbons stuck in her back, arms, and legs. One was even dangerously close to the nape of her neck. Rima cursed Amu for having such good aim, although it was expected since Amu was herself an archer.

"Hn, in pain Rima?"

"Urusai!"

"Hn."

Rima bit back another shriek as something more painful was shot at her left leg. Her shaky hands reached down to pull whatever she was struck with out of her throbbing leg. She realized the painful way that Amu had switched from senbons to arrows.

_'Twenty more seconds.' _Rima reminded herself and began to slowly count in head. Twenty more seconds until the smoke will dissolve. Outside the black cloud, the Tsukiyomi Clan vampires were groaning to each other, complaining that they weren't able to see a thing of what was happening. The only thing they could hear were screams erupting from Rima and few taunting words coming from Amu. Once Rima hit the twenty seconds mark, the now gray clouds rolled away just as she had predicted. Rima tightened her grip on her sword when she saw Amu was slouched lazily in a tree branch leaning her back against the tree trunk, one hand on the bow and the other reaching for another arrow.

"Che, you really were trying to kill me weren't you?"

"Hn. If I were really trying to kill you, you would've been dead by now."

"Alright Pinky," Amu snorted at her given nickname, "You had your fun, now it's my turn."

Rima slid her sword back into its case that was strapped across her back with her sash and pulled out a small mango colored flute that must've been strapped around her fishnets. Amu's eyes widened an inch when she realized what Rima was about to use.

"How troublesome," Amu sighed but jumped down from the tree. She threw her bow near the tree she was sitting in earlier and pulled out a piece of cherry blossom origami paper, folding the paper too fast for anyone to even see what she was trying to create. Ikuto watched Amu curiously, wondering when she had learned to form origami seals and what she was about to do.

After five sloppy (Amu had to do them as quickly as possible so Rima wouldn't be able to see what she was trying to summon) foldings, there was a soft _poof! _sound and smoke. Rima snorted as she realized what Amu had summoned. It wasn't necessarily the strongest weapon, but the two cherry blossom fans she had summoned would be able to defend at least herself from Rima's flute attacks. Rima raised her flute to her mouth and played a short, sweet note. The earth rumbled once more as Amu prepared to fight. The pink vampire began to run towards the blonde vampire, zigzagging and dodging any steel stones Rima's flute had summoned or fanning out a gushes of wind strong enough to split the stones in half. She narrowed her eyes and jumped across the slightly large crack Rima summoned and stuck her foot out while in mid-air. Rima glared at her and crossed her arms in front of her face, blocking Amu's kick aimed at her face.

Rima pushed Amu away from her and played another few notes while charging towards her. Trying to distract her opponent while attacking her in close combat, Amu had trouble trying to dodge whatever came at her while trying to land any blows at the flute player at the same time. It wasn't long before Amu finally landed a slightly painful punch at Rima's jaw, knocking her in surprise causing her to stagger backwards. Amu barely gave her enough time to recover as she opened one of her fans and threw it towards her like a ninja star. Instead of the usual paper on fans, her fan was made of steel instead, acting as if it was actually a ninja star. Her fan whizzed by missing Rima by a whole inch. Rima laughed at the pink vampire's unfortunate mistake. At the last minute, Amu gave her a smirk and threw her other fan in the opposite direction of the other. While Rima gaped at the sudden trickery, she didn't have enough time to react when the two fans crossed each other behind her back. There was a sudden force that sent Rima hurling backwards, her back hitting the tree trunk in a harsh throw and causing her to cough bloodout of her mouth.

She struggled against whatever was holding her against the tree, but stopped wiggling as Amu appeared in front of her.

"Got you," she whispered, smirking to herself. Wrapped around Rima and the tree trunk were transparent strings (that were barely visible to the human/vampire eye unless it gleamed underneath the sun) that was connected to the two fans embedded in the tree trunk. The strings were created with a bit of raw energy enchanted in it so when the prisoner struggles, the strings wrap tighter with every struggle. The strings were also sharp enough to give you cuts if you move around too much.

"Gomen, dear Amu-chan."

"Nani?" Amu let out a cry of pain as she felt something sharp cut right through her stomach and abdomen forcing her to stagger backwards from the impact. The pinkette let out a painful gasp as the sharp object slid in even deeper, sending out a stream of blood soiling her kimono. Rima lifted her leg and rammed it back, shattering the tree and releasing her from the strings. Amu glanced down out of the corner of her eyes and realized what had stabbed her was a pointed, steel stone. She hacked out some blood and winced in pain. Her legs were trembling and she knew she was going to give in. Just as she had predicted, Amu fell to her knees, scraping them in the process.

"I guess this fight is over. Gomen Amu, but this just proves that you're still too weak even if I didn't use any pills."

"I won't go back on my words Rima," Amu let out another blood-filled cough, "I won't lose."

"Baka. You're going to die if you keep fighting with that wound. You're lucky you're my best friend and I wouldn't dream of killing you in any way. But if you keep talking your mouth off, you really will die. Proctor, do your job and declare this fight over!"

The proctor didn't say anything. He just watched Amu struggle to get up, wondering if he should declare the winner already, but decided against it. There was this spark of determination in her honey eyes. He decided to let the match go on for a bit longer and call it quits when he notices any changes in Amu's health.

Amu let out a few grunts in pain as she gripped the stone and began to slowly pull it out of her stomach.

"Baka!"

There was another set of whimpers and groans until the stone was finally fully pulled out and dropped onto the floor, a rusty blood color staining part of it.

"Amu," Rima whispered and watched her friend catch her breath with her eyebrows still furrowed in pain.

"I won't die. I swear I won't die."

Amu gave a pained chuckle before whispering a few words under her breath. Rima had to strain her ears in order to hear that the rosette had whispered "explode." In less than three seconds, the earth beneath Rima had exploded and crumbled, sending bits of dirt and rocks flying everywhere. Rima let out a scream from the surprise attack as she was thrown to the ground. She let out a few curses and ducked her head under her arm as she waited for the explosion to stop. Honestly, Rima hadn't even noticed the minuscule, blood-splattered origami paper surrounding her in a circle. Just one more step forward onto the paper and she would've been blown to pieces even without Amu's command.

After the smoke had lolled away, Rima was still on the floor gasping harshly and had burn marks on her legs and arms. There were also a few scratches from the rubbles scratching at her. Taking advantage of when the explosion had occurred, Amu flash-stepped back to her bow and returned in another flash right before Rima's eyes. Pulling out a fresh arrow, Amu punctured her arm and drew a gash all while spitting venom into the wound. She hissed slightly from the stinging, but quickly looked back at Rima, who was slightly shaking.

Sharing the same curiosity as Rima, Ikuto watched intensely as he wondered what the rosette could possibly be doing. He had never seen her do such thing before, and he couldn't help but scowl in frustration. What she was doing was so familiar, yet so foreign to his eyes. His curiosity was getting to him, dammit! It was then Amu decided to share what she was doing.

"_Tsukimitsu!_"

The Tsukiyomi Clan leader widened his eyes in surprise as he heard the word leave her mouth. It had been a while since he had heard the skill name, and the last time he had heard it was coming from his own mother. Confusion swirled in his head as he wondered how Amu had managed to come across this skill. It was after all, a forbidden skill that his mother had once mentioned.

_Tsukimitsu_- The art of slicing your own arm open and spitting venom in the wound to activate keener eye senses. Once activated, the user has the ability to paralyze and torture the unfortunate victim for as long as until the victim is able to break the skill. It is said that once the _Tsukimitsu_ is activated on the victim, the victim is trapped in an illusion where it seems like they are falling down a bottomless black pit with a soothing full moon in the background. It is known that _Tsukimitsu_ can last an eternal lifetime if the victim is strong, eventually leading the victim to go insane and try to suicide. This skill is considered a forbidden skill since it can also kill the user with the venom little by little if not treated immediately. This skill is passed down from the hunter class and can only be used by them.

Rima let out a gasp and tried avert her eyes away, but somehow couldn't find the will to do so. The last thing she could feel was her own body falling forward and hitting the ground. Everything seemed to happen so quickly right after that; she cast one last look on Amu's pleased face before she realized that she wasn't in the real world anymore. Rima began to panic as she felt her own body falling downwards in an endless abyss. The only thing she could see was blackness engulfing around her and a glowing full moon somewhere deep in the background, casting an illuminating glow on her body. Rima felt like she was going to _hurl_. What sick idiot had come up with this skill? And how the hell did Amu even manage to trap her in this damn illusion. Better yet, when did she even _learn_ this skill? So many unanswered questions swirled her head and she couldn't help but clutch her head and scream from the dizziness. To make matters worse, Rima was _still _falling at an incredibly fast speed. She felt trapped. Trapped and sick. She definitely needed to get out of her before she went insane, she decided.

Back in the real world, Amu watched as best friend unfortunately locked eyes with her own and then kept up with the motion as Rima's eyes grew glazed and her body fell forward helplessly. She was trapped, Amu realized. Now was her chance to strategize her plans while Rima was knocked unconscious.

Ikuto observed the skill with a smirk of impression on his face. Kukai and Nagihiko raised their eyebrows in disbelief as they watched the petite blonde fall face first to the ground.

"What the hell just happened," Kukai demanded and eyed Ikuto, waiting for an explanation. Nagihiko nodded silently, a pang of worry coursing through his mind.

"She's not going to die is she?"

"It is merely a simple illusion skill; nothing too harmful unless Amu decides to take advantage and kill Mashiro while she is still trapped in the illusion, which I know she won't have the heart to do to her best friend. Although, I have to admit that her using the skill surprised me."

"How so?" Nagihiko asked for Kukai and himself.

"_Tsukimitsu_ is a rather high-leveled skill, and I'm quite impressed Amu has been able to learn it. But what I want to know is _how _she learned it and who even taught it to her."

Amu scratched her head and let out a frustrated sigh. She squinted upwards and let out a scowl. She despised the clouds at the moment. Clouds were so pure and innocent, and all they had to do was float lazily in the sky with not a care in the world. If anything, Amu would rather be cloud-watching instead of take part in this fight. It had been about fifteen minutes since _Tsukimitsu_ was activated, and there hadn't been any sign of Rima waking up anytime soon. If they both made it out of here alive, Amu was absolutely positive the blonde would skin her alive for putting her through such a torturous illusion. The rosette let out another sigh, this time indicating she was tired as hell. The skill had taken up more energy then she had imagined, and they had been fighting for more than four hours already.

"The fight has to end soon. We still have that damn fight with Kukai and Nagihiko as well."

Back in the illusion, Rima had tried everything to dispel it, but nothing had worked. She had tried reaching out to see if there was anything to touch, but nothing was there for her to grasp. She also even tried to fall towards the moon, but after three useless minutes of trying to fall towards the moon, she cursed herself for even thinking up of such an idiotic plan. There was also this one time where Rima stared at the moon for a long time and then calling it quits when she unexpectedly threw up. The blonde couldn't help but grimace as she watched her bile exit her mouth and fall down. She so _did not _want to know how much longer until she fell right _into _her puke. Just when she was about to give in, she noticed there were still three senbons stuck in her left ankle from Amu's earlier attack. Rima's breath hitched in her throat as an idea hatched in her mind. She plucked the needles out of her ankle and stared at them for a few seconds. Nodding to no one in particular, the petite warrior stabbed all three needles into her shoulder with as much force as she could apply. Apparently it worked, because she was screaming such a long stream of colorful words and suddenly findinf herself on solid ground.

There was a gasp from the audience and Rima smirked to herself as she also heard a stifled gasp from Amu. She snapped open her eyes but quickly regretted it. The blinding sun caused white spots in her vision and she couldn't help but throw up once more.

"Congratulations Rima. You managed to escape my _Tsukimitsu_."

"Aa," Rima snorted and stood up, wiping any excess saliva or bile from her mouth. She eyed her right shoulder and realized the needles weren't there. So it _was_ an illusion after all.

"I figured out how your little illusion worked. Next time you cast it on me; I'll be out in a matter of seconds."

"Unfortunately, there won't be a next time. This match is about to end."

The two girls narrowed their eyes at each other and shuffled backwards, keeping a good distance between them. This time, Rima decided to start the first move as she flash-stepped towards the stressed huntress. They began to throw punches and kicks at each other, using their arms and legs and not their weapons. Amu unfortunately had a hard time throwing punches since she was still carrying her bow in one hand, although the bow appeared to be a good shield, blocking any blows that were a bit too fast for Amu to catch. Amu let out a hoarse yell as she flung her leg and tries to knock Rima off balance with a round-house kick. Apparently she wasn't fast enough, because Rima was able to catch her leg in a tight lock at the last minute. Struggling to get out of Rima's grip, Amu was too late to notice the fist about to collide with her jaw.

Amu grunted as Rima's fist made contact with her face and quickly braced herself as she flew through the air and collided against the floor with her back. She groaned and touched her bruised jaw delicately, knowing in a couple of minutes it would swell ugly. The rosette could just imagine Rima laughing hard and asking her if the punch hurt, and damn did it hurt alright! She was almost certain her jaw was broken. There were a few stinging tears threatening to leak out, but Amu bit her lip to keep it from rolling down her cheeks. A few punches to the jaw she could handle, but a punch with as much force as Rima had used? The punch hurt like a little bitch.

After another three sets of dodging kicks while trying to throw punches at each other, the two girls were panting heavily with sweat stuck to their skins. Deciding that they had fooled around enough, Amu pulled out an arrow and loaded it, ready to shoot and mumble a skill name. Rima quickly whipped out her sword, standing in a ready stance, also ready to yell a skill name. Upon seeing Rima's ready stance and gritting teeth, she decided to let Rima attack with the skill first. Not able to stay patient any longer, Rima lashed forward all while screaming _"Flame of Phoenix!_**(3)**_"_ Amu gave a short snort before releasing the arrow and yelling _"Blooming Blizzard!_**(4)**_" _while combing the technique with a mere _Double Arrow_.

Before the arrow had split, it had turned an icy shade of light blue indicating that when touching something solid, it would explode immediately, the explosion shaped like a blooming flower all while freezing whatever it exploded on. Rima dodged whatever arrow came at her, trying to get as close as she could to the bow bearer. Taking another flash-step towards her, Amu suddenly flashed out of the swinging fiery sword's way, dodging it completely. Rima scowled and pivoted on her left foot and tried to get at least a hit on Amu. The fight went on for another couple of minutes; Amu dodging whatever was thrust towards her all while launching her _Blooming Blizzard _combination with _Double Arrow _while Rima was dodging the sharp, ice flowers and trying to stab her opponent.

It was nearing the afternoon when Rima decided to switch skills and turn to _Fifty Lightning Bugs_**(5)**. Amu continued to use the same techniques, although her arrows seemed to be slowing down as her muscles screamed at her to stop jumping and running around and her lungs burned from lack of oxygen. Rima back-flipped out of the way just in time as an arrow exploded right in front of her giving the blonde barely any time to take cover behind a bush.

_'This is it,' _Amu panted heavily, and crouched down while trying to take in as much oxygen as she can to her screaming lungs. Her legs wobbled dangerously, and all her body muscles were sore from fighting for so long. The two couldn't possibly fight any longer, as Amu had also noticed that Rima was on the brink of collapsing from energy loss and pain caused by Amu's arrow wounds. Rima was also not feeling well; an aftereffect from _Tsukimitsu_.

The rustling of the bushes gave away the fact that Rima was just a few seconds away from launching herself back out into the battlefield. When she appeared, her _Fifty Lightning Bugs _skill was still active. Flash-stepping towards the slightly stunned pinkette, Rima stopped in front of her, a scowl plastered on her dirty and scratched face.

"You think you can fool me with your _Origami Puppet**(6)**_? I'm not that stupid Amu."

A sneer later and a slash at the pinkette, the pinkette suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a flutter of pink origami paper. Smirking, the blonde quickly reactivated her skill and charged towards the real battered and bruised looking Amu, although there was something quite different about her; her bow was no longer in her hand. Instead, it was thrown off to the side neglected. Casting a suspicious glare, Rima decided to finish off the battle. There was another hoarse cry ripping from her throat as she charged forward with her sword stretched out. Amu had no reaction, almost as if she knew this was going to happen. What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion, as Rima's sword eventually pierced straight through her stomach with a sick crackling sound of lightning all while Amu lets a howled pain rip through the air.

"_Fifty Lightning Bugs!_"

"_Kieseki!_**(7)**"

Although her stomach was shocked quite badly with the orange sword still lodged in her stomach, Amu refused to let go of the blade. Her hands gripped tightly around the blade, blood pouring out from the inside of her palms as the blade dug deeper into her hands.

"You really were trying to kill me weren't you Rima?" Amu managed to mumble through her strained pain, letting blood flow freely out of her mouth. She liked blood, just not her own. There was just this one weird taste mixed inside her own while human's blood were rich and full of ivory flavoring. Hers just tasted _bland _and boring.

"Because you were foolish enough to not call it quits when I first told you to."

"And to think I had a chance to win against you. Tch. I guess I was wrong."

Not another word was said as Rima loosened her grip on the sword completely and took a few steps backwards, watching Amu hack out blood endlessly before finally collapsing onto her knees and then falling to her side. The proctor flashed to the pinkette's side with a few of Ikuto's most skilled medical vampires. The medical vampires did their job of pulling the sword out while healing the wound as they listened to the pained gasps coming from the almost unconscious girl. The proctor gave a sigh before standing up and turning to face Rima and majority of the audience.

"The match is over," there was a slight pause as everyone's breath hitched. It was quite obvious that Amu could no longer fight.

"Hinamori Amu is no longer able to fight. Thus, making Mashiro Rima the winner of this match." There was a burst of cheers from almost all vampires, a few clapping half-heartedly since they had lost a few bets they placed with their friends. Rima gave the crowd a smirk before turning to face Ikuto, Nagihiko, and Kukai. There was a pleased smile on the purple haired thief's face as he clapped politely while the other thief sighed in disappointment, but smiled eventually and gave the winner a thumbs up. Ikuto, on the other hand was staring intensely at the hurt vampire, and Rima swore his eyes flashed worry.

Before the crowd could get any wilder if possible, the proctor cleared his throat trying to get everyone's attention. He straightened his slouched form before speaking.

"On the other hand, Mashiro Rima has been caught cheating during the match. Cheating leads to disqualification, so therefore Hinamori Amu wins by default."

Everyone gave a gasp, including the blonde herself. Before Rima could interrupt, Ikuto jumped down to speak with the proctor.

"What are you saying, Daisuke?"

"Ikuto-sama," Daisuke gave a quick bow before continuing. "When Mashiro ran to hide behind the bush during Hinamori's attack, she didn't notice it was in front of the tree I was sitting in. She said a few things that I honestly think was influenced by your sister, and then took warrior pills."

"Che. Were you really that afraid of losing Mashiro?"

Ikuto snorted and walked towards the medic vamps. Rima gave a small scowl as she stared at Nagihiko out of the corner of her eyes. Nagihiko gave a sigh before nudging Kukai and the two disappeared through a door.

"How is she?"

"Ikuto-sama. She's lost a lot of blood, but she'll be fine. We just need to bring her to the hospital compound so we can inject the rest of her venom out of her body and give her a few tests. We can guarantee that she will be fine after a few days of rest. I also suggest you hold back the fight between Mashiro and Hinamori with Kukai-senpai and Nagihiko-senpai."

"Aa, arigatou. I will inform them that the fight will be held off until Amu feels better." Ikuto barely gave a nod before stalking off to visit Amu who was placed on a gurney.

"I-it hurts."

"Amu, don't worry. My medics are very skilled, so they will be able to take care of you." Ikuto sighed and moved a few pieces of her pinks bangs out of her closed eyes.

"It hurts so much."

"Feel better..."

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><p><strong><span>Terminology:<span>**

**Tadaima!- I'm home!**

**Onegai- Please**

**Urusai!- Shut up!**

**Senpai- Adressed to someone who's more experienced than you.**

**(1) Senbons- Needles**

**(2) Obi- It's like a sash, commonly worn with kimonos.**

**(3) Flame of Phoenix- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to create scorching, hot fire surround your sword blade. It is said that the fire resembles the shape of the phoneix head. This technique's weakness is water and ice. Just one touch of the fire leaves a bad burn. This skill can only be used by the warrior class.**

**(4) Blooming Blizzard- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to turn any normal arrow into an ice arrow. When the skill is complete, there will be a thin layer of blue ice covering the arrow. When the arrow is launched and touches anything solid, the arrow explodes and leaves behind an ice shaped bloom of a flower. Whatever touches the ice becomes frozen. This skill can only be used by the hunter class.**

**(5) Fifty Lightning Bugs- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to create a white-blue lightning surrounding your sword blade. It is said that when the technique is used, the lightning is bright enough and strong enough to light up the entire area surrounding you, making the scene look like a fluster of fifty lightning bugs surrounding you. Even the slightest touch of the lightning will leave an aftershock every once in a while if not treated immediately. This skill can only be used by the warrior class.**

**(6) Origami Puppet- The art of using enchanted origami paper to form puppets of yourself to manipulate your enemy into thinking it is the real you. This technique doesn't require you to use much concentration or raw energy. The downside of this technique is that when your puppet self is hit, it will disappear leaving behind a flutter of origami paper. This skill can be used by any vampire class.**

**(7) Kieseki- Miracle; this skill will be explained in the later chapters.**

**The second part of chapter 9 will be the Kukai and Nagihiko vs. Amu and Rima fight.  
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****{_Edit 08.23.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	10. Let's Get Down To Business Pt 2

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**Chapter 9: Let's Get Down To Business Part 2****  
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**{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p><em>Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...<em>

"You cannot go in there! Hinamori-san is _trying_ to rest!"

"I'm her best friend! I need to see her!" A few grunts and shrieks were heard later followed by the door banging open. Amu woke with a start. She eyed the two intruders with slight surprise before letting her eyelids droop in exhaustion as she recognized the familiar faces. Rima and one of Ikuto's medic vamp stood at the door, limbs tangled around each other with an ugly scowl on both their faces. The shorter girl gave one last glare at the taller girl before wiggling herself free and running towards the bed. Amu sighed, but gave a tired nod at the medic who finally agreed to let Rima stay but only after she gave the blonde a dirty look. What would Ikuto-sama say if she had let someone disturb one of his patients? Surely he would never choose _her_ to be heiress to the Tsukiyomi Clan if he had found out she wasn't doing her job correctly.

After the medic had finally shut the door, Rima stopped giving the door a hard stare to turn around and face the rosette girl. It had been two days since she had won the match as well as two days since she had nearly died. Basically one day of being unconscious and one day of being stuck in bed so she can fully regain her energy. Ikuto's medics had done a superb job on healing Amu, even if the damages were great and the chances of Amu dying from blood loss was high. They had spent three hours in the surgery room trying to patch up any damages done to her internal organs and crushed bones and also trying to get the venom out of her system (the venom part was tricky; one careless mistake could cause the venom to either paralyze her forever or an instant kill). Although Amu was grateful for being saved and alive and definitely relieved that she was no longer screaming from pain, she couldn't bring herself to like the hospital section in the Tsukiyomi compound.

The people there were very strict, and they had forced Amu to take blood tablets instead of giving her fresh blood. Apparently she wasn't ready to drink blood yet; her organs and arteries were still delicate, she was told.

"How are you feeling?" Rima finally spoke up, breaking Amu's train of thoughts.

"Truthfully, kinda tired and still a bit sore around the abdomen area."

Rima grimaced before pulling a lone chair next to the bed. She grabbed the ignored glass of blood tablet and water transfusion sitting on a nearby nightstand and held it out for Amu. Amu shook her head vigorously, but Rima still held it out for her with a harsh glare on her pretty face. The rosette eventually gave in and took a dainty sip to please the blonde. She tried her best not to choke on the artificial flavorings. Amu usually wouldn't mind taking blood tablets. It's just that two gallons of it had been shoveled down her throat within the two days and she was so sick of it right now. Amu lusted for sweet, rich, and thick blood right now. She could even picture the rusty, red liquid coolly sliding down her throat and distinguishing the burning sensation in her throat.

"Amu," Rima began as she placed the now half-empty glass on the table.

"Aa?"

"I'm really sorry." There was a pause as Amu stared at Rima with a hard expression. She didn't know what to say. Should she go berserk and yell at her for pulling such a stunt? Should she be glad that Rima cheated (she had overheard a few medics gossiping about the match)? Or should she be relieved that the fight between them two was finally over?

"Don't apologize." Amu finally grunted and stared out the open window. A ray of sunshine flooded the room, and the white walls mixed with sunshine seemed to make the room even brighter – blinding even.

"I didn't mean to cheat," Rima didn't give Amu a chance to respond before continuing, "the truth was, was that I was actually afraid of losing. I didn't want to look bad in front of Nagi! I – what I mean was um. Ugh. I just–!"

Rima finally decided to shut her mouth before things got out of hand. She could already feel her entire face burning with embarrassment. She hung her head, making sure her bangs covered her eyes and her long, doll-like hair shielded her face like a curtain. There was no response even after a few seconds, so Rima decided to take a small peak. There was unfortunately for Rima, a look of amusement in Amu's eyes although her lips were in a tight, thin line. Rima groaned and slammed her head down onto the white mattress. Amu smirked as Rima began to brood over her own stutters.

"You wanted to impress Nagihiko; I get it. You should have just whispered it to me instead of stabbing me with your sword. I still survived so no big deal." Amu gave a shrug as a smile began to spread across her face.

"How on earth did you even manage to survive my attacks? I took freakin' warrior pills too! That should've made my attack even more powerful! How?" Rima demanded an answer as she pounded her fists on the mattress.

"Trust me; I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't used _Kieseki_."

"What the hell? What kind of skill was that anyway? By the way, your _Origami Puppet _was easy to see through. You need to work on that more."

"Ugh, I know. I'm a bit rusty with my origami folding, not to mention any skills that involved origami. Che." Amu shook her head in disappointment, but Rima interrupted once more asking about how she survived.

"Ah, _Kieseki_. _Kieseki_ is usually saved for your last technique when you know you're at your limit and you know you're going to lose the battle. What _Kieseki_ does is it uses your last remaining energy so it can save you from actually getting killed. We_ Kieseki _users usually wait until we can battle no more and that's when we have the least amount of energy left. Basically what it does is it no matter how deadly the attack is, you'll still be able to survive. After using the skill, it uses the last bit of your energy which is also quite dangerous since you can die from being energy deprived. And this technique is a job-line limit"

Rima's doe-like eyes widened as Amu came to an end in her explanation.

"Mou! Why didn't _I_ become a bowman?" Amu laughed and shook her head, amused. Rima pouted her lips and crossed her arms over her chest all while kicking the bedside.

"But Rima, warriors have their own perks too. Your _Fifty Lightning Bugs _was insanely cool. Now that I think about it, I've never seen you actually use that skill before."

"I used it a few times before, but the skill is draining, so I try not to use it often." Before Amu could respond, a knock interrupted the conversation.

"Come in." As the door opened, a head of blue hair poked though.

"Amu, I wish to speak with you." The blonde watched him intently, unconsciously narrowing her eyes. Ikuto, on the other hand, felt a pair of eyes giving off a death glare towards him, and he turned to face the petite warrior. His eyebrows arched all the way up to his hairline as he watched her give off a murderous aura. He smirked, amused as of how protective she was towards her best friend. _Funny how she's so protective of Amu all while she did try to kill her as well_, he thought.

"Do you mind giving us a few minutes, Rima?"

"Not at all, Amu." Liar. Rima had spoken through clenched teeth, and her hands curled into tiny fists. She gave Ikuto one last pointed glare that read "touch her and you die" before shuffling (read as stomping) out of the room and slamming the door loudly. Ikuto gave a soft chuckle before taking over the wooden chair Rima had once occupied just seconds before.

The rosette seemed to tense from his closeness, but after realizing he wouldn't dare try anything in a hospital, she relaxed, but kept her hands curled tightly on the thin blankets.

"You wished to speak with me?" Amu sighed and shifted herself to sit upright better instead of her slouched position. A numbing pain shot through her body, and she winced. Ikuto noticed this, and he pushed her back down gently.

"Aa," the teen began. "How are you feeling?" Giving him a confused look, he responded, "You're hurt. Stay down." Ikuto crossed his arms as Amu stuck out her tongue before reluctantly sliding back into her original slouched position.

"Amu, I don't know if any of my medics told you this, but your injury would've been quite severe if you hadn't used _Kieseki_."

"Aa, I'm aware." She didn't make eye contact with him, but she could feel his intense gaze on her.

"Where did you learn that skill?"

"What are you saying, Ikuto?" Amu rolled her eyes discreetly, but the blue-haired Vampire Prince saw it anyways. He watched her shift uncomfortably, and saw her hands clench and unclench the sheets draped lazily over her. He also mused over the fact how she kept flipping her pink bangs out of her eyes but combed her fingers through it over and over again.

"Only Kaasan knew that skill and the elder Tsukiyomi bow wielders are able to summon that technique. How did you learn that skill?" Amu stayed quiet; she didn't want to answer him.

She had promised a certain someone she would never spill the secrets to how she learned _Kieseki,_ and she wouldn't dare spill it now. With his patience on thin ice, Ikuto marred a scowl on his porcelain face. This girl was pushing past his limits, he decided.

Without thinking, anger overcame him and he forcefully shot his hand out. Amu let out a pained gasp as his cold hand wrapped around her throat threateningly and she was slammed against the headboard of the bed. She glowered at him while barring her glistening fangs at him, trying to put on a tough façade, but her eyes told a different story; she was deathly afraid of what would happen next.

"Ik-Ikuto!" She hissed out his name as his hand curled around tighter. Her hands flew up and clamped over his as an attempt to pry his fingers off her now bruised throat

He gave her a warning glare that read that if she moved just one inch, he would snap her neck with ease. The Tsukiyomi drew his face closer and Amu flushed from the closeness. She tried to turn her head away, but his hand around her throat made it harder to even move a centimeter.

"Oi blue-haired freak! Let go of the pink-haired freak or you die!" Amu was grateful for Rima to come slam the door open, interrupting and threatening the Tsukiyomi heir; although she could've done without the name calling.

Sneering, Ikuto let go of a choking Amu and turned around to face the daring warrior with a smirk on his face. Behind him, Amu panted heavily, trying to breathe in air through her windpipe. Amu hadn't realized Ikuto was holding her up by her throat until he let go and she fell two inches back onto the bouncy mattress.

"Hmm? A tiny Shrimp warrior being so daring and telling me that she'll kill me? I watched what you did out there two days ago and you couldn't even beat a weak bowman," Amu interrupted with a short cry at the insult, "and you threaten me, Vampire Prince of the Tsukiyomi Clan? Hn. You amuse me Shrimp."

Rima seethed in anger quietly. Her dark brown eyes dared Ikuto to call her something insulting one more time. The Mashiro drew out her sword and placed it in front of her, taking a ready stance. Ikuto gave a low chuckle and drew his steel clawed glove out. He slipped it onto his right hand and buckled the straps into place. Since he was already clad in his usual fighting outfit, the gloves and extra claw didn't look ridiculous on him. Amu watched in horror as he too, took a ready stance.

"Y-you guys! Don't fight here, please! Rima, don't start something and Ikuto, please don't hurt her. You guys are going to destroy the building!" Instead of ignoring her, Ikuto rolled his indigo eyes in annoyance. Of course Amu was right to stop the two of them from destroying the place. Every medical thing in here cost a fortune, and Ikuto honestly didn't want to replace anything costly.

"Hn. Why don't we take this to the roof then?" With a short laugh, Rima gave a curt nod and the two jumped out the open window. The two were springing up in a blur with a single pounce on the window still. Amu gave a soft squeak and threw her covers off her body to follow the two. At the last minute, one of her foot got tangled in the sheets and she tumbled to the floor. She gave a frustrated sigh and scrambled out the door ignoring the aching feeling in her stomach.

Halfway up the stairs, the rosette cursed at herself for being so stupid. She was a vampire for crying out loud. Why didn't she just jump through the window like the other two? There was no turning back now, she decided, and continued to fly up the stairs five steps at a time. At least she was smart enough to skip a few steps each time so she could get there sooner.

When she burst through the roof access door, there wasn't any big damage done so far; the two were only scowling at each other (well, Rima scowled. Ikuto doesn't scowl) in a crouched position. They were both breathing hard, and that showed Amu they had already started to fight.

"Stop it!" She screeched and clutched at her heart area. She would never forgive herself if any of them ever gotten hurt. This fight was about Amu, and Amu herself knew so too. She won't be able to live if both of them got hurt because of her.

Both of them. There was this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach (and no, it definitely was not the painful stabs). So what was it? She felt herself fluster, heat rushing to her face. Whatever this feeling was, Amu hated it. It was the feeling of care, she realized. No matter how much Amu wanted to deny it, she cared for Ikuto as much as she cared for Rima. There was no denying it.

"Die!" Rima gave a battle cry and her blade sparked to life, sparks of blue-white electricity engulfing all three of them in a blinding fluster of light. Her blade was also a fiery red, somewhat resembling the head of a phoenix. The two colors had mixed to a white-orange. Fifty lightning bugs buzzing and the high screech of the fire bird pierced their ears. On the other side of the roof, Ikuto had raised his clawed hand up with a glowing purple energy shaped in the shape of a giant cat paw. Amu sucked in her breath panicking. Before she could realize what great risk she was putting herself in, her barefooted feet began to make its way between them.

"Rima! Ikuto!"

There was a blinding light as the two skills collided with each other, turning the whole rooftop a blinding gray with a gush of wind and dirt blowing into the three of them. Rima had dropped to her knees and used her arms to cover her face. Ikuto, on the other hand, was still standing, but his arms were crossed in front of him in an 'X' to block whatever came hitting at him.

When the light dimmed and the wind stopped blowing, the two dropped their defense to look around. Unfortunately for Ikuto, there was a large crater between the two of them, where Amu had been previously standing. A jolt of alert and nervousness washed through him as he looked around to find at least any tiny glimpse of pink hair. Nothing. Rima had also figured out that Amu might've been seriously hurt, so she began to glance around too. Finding nothing as well, she scrambled over to the crater to glance down. There was no sign of pink, although the people that had been underneath the hole of the roof were staring upwards with an expression of shock and fright in their eyes.

To Rima and Ikuto's relief, there was suddenly a cough that sounded suspiciously like Amu and two familiar presences. The two whipped around and found Kukai cradling the coughing girl in his arms. Nagihiko was standing next to him, who had a disapproving frown on his face. The usually happy-go-lucky Kukai was also sporting a frown of disappointment. Trying to calm himself down before he got upset and ripped Kukai's head off for touching Amu, Ikuto took a deep breath instead. The two jumped down in front of them and Kukai carefully slid Amu off his arms. Ikuto was next to her in a flash just in case she collapsed.

"Ikuto, it isn't my place to judge you but what you did was insanely dangerous." Nagihiko sighed and pushed his long, violet hair out of his way.

"Yeah, what were you thinking? You could've killed Hinamori if I didn't save her! And boy, did we come at the right time! If it weren't for the magnificent Kukai, Hinamori would've been either fried to death or poisoned to death."

Ikuto scoffed and began to unbuckle his gloves. After he had taken off his gloves, the claws to his right one retracted and he shoved them inside his pocket. He jammed his hands in as well and stood in a slouched, lazy position.

"Amu, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Rima sighed in relief when the rosette had nodded and gave her a quick grin.

"What on earth happened that made you two want to kill each other?" Nagihiko had asked, expecting an answer from either Rima or Ikuto. Neither said anything except for Rima glaring at the older teen and Ikuto staring down at her with a blank expression. Nagihiko expected either one to answer, but since none of them did, he decided to drop the subject. He would have to pull Rima aside later and ask her personally.

"Oi, Hinamori! Are you feeling better? That was one badass fight the other day!" Kukai laughed heartily as Amu giggled her quiet laughs.

"Aa, I'm feeling way better. Still a bit tired, but better nonetheless."

"That's great to hear."

"If you're feeling better, then we will continue the second round two days from now. By then, you should not feel tired anymore." Ikuto spoke monotonously while walking towards the edge of the roof. If he wanted to get the roof fixed, he might as well start talking with a few constructors now.

"Hai."

"And don't worry about Utau. I told one of my clients to ask her to borrow the two of you for a three week mission. She won't be suspicious as to why you two had disappeared suddenly for a few days."

"Arigato." With a curt nod, a cluster of dark raven feathers had taken over the place Ikuto had previously stood on.

* * *

><p>"Amu," Amu glanced up from refilling her senbon holster to look at Rima who was leaning against the door frame. "I just peaked outside and gosh, it's insane! There are more people than last time's match." Amu's breath hitched in her throat, but she quickly shook her head clear of any unnecessary thoughts.<p>

"Figures most Tsukiyomi Clan members would want to watch their senpais' fight their number one enemies."

"Che. Ready to kick butt?"

"Only if you promise me you don't use your pills. I honestly don't want to lose aga–"

"Shut it, Pinky!" Amu smirked as Rima scowled and kicked the door frame.

"Alright; let the games begin." Amu finished strapping her holsters and grabbed her heavy bow from her bed. The two friends walked out of their shared room in the Tsukiyomi mansion and began to retrace their steps from two days ago.

"Do you think Utau's gonna believe the mission story?"

"Who knows," Rima began and flipped her curly hair over her shoulder. "She's pretty sharp when it comes to mischief and lying, but if we must lie, we might as well try to win this lying game."

"What do you think she'll do if she ever finds out we were actually held captive by Ikuto?" Amu giggled jokingly and rubbed her right wrist; taking notice at the amulet on her wrist. She smiled lightly as it glowed dimly back at her.

"You'd like that wouldn't you, Amu?" Rima snickered as she watched her teammate's jaw drop and her eyes widen. It was amusing for Rima to find out how many different shades of red she could blush. So far, Rima had counted five different blushes in one week.

"Urusai, baka! That wasn't funny!" Rima gave a snort, but let the conversation slowly die away. Amu was still blushing ten folds, but the redness had died down by at least two shades.

As the two neared the stadium, the peaceful silence was gnawed away by Amu. She reached out her hand to block Rima from walking any further.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know about you, but I _really _want to win this match. I know I'm not going to hear the end of it if Kukai and Nagihiko win."

"Honestly Amu, you're not the only one who wants to win."

"Good, so we're on the same page." The blonde gave her friend a weary look. She didn't like where this was going. Usually, Yaya would be the one causing mischief, not Amu. They were usually the ones to stop the younger girl before she got her head ripped off by Utau. But for this case, it was different.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I know what you're thinking; it's not going to be anything bad. We're not going to get disqualified or anything!"

"I don't know, Amu." Rima gave a sigh, but Amu interrupted her before she could utter out another disagreement. "Just hear me out!" The pinkette had a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Alright, alright. Talk." Rima shrugged her shoulders, giving in. It wasn't like she actually had a choice, since she herself wanted to crush Nagihiko.

"Okay, so here's the plan." Amu began whispering rushed words into Rima's ear. Rima listened intensely, trying her hardest to comprehend every word that was ushered into her ear. She had to rethink a few words that came out in a slurred manner from Amu trying to hurriedly explain her plan.

"So you in?"

"I guess. I mean, I can't really say no can I?" Rima feigned a sigh, but locked her eyes with Amu's own mischievous eyes.

"Great! Come on, they're waiting for us." Amu motioned for Rima to hurry up, and the blonde ran a few steps to catch up with Amu who had taken the lead.

"Let the games begin."

* * *

><p>Beads of sweat dotted Amu's eyebrows as she narrowed her eyes at the gleaming sun up ahead. At the last minute before the actual match had begun, Ikuto had bended the rules to make it seem unfair to the girls. Ikuto himself was going to join the match, and this time there would be no teams. It was Rima against Nagihiko against Kukai against Amu against Ikuto. They were all going to fight against each other, and there will be a time limit. Whoever is the last one standing before the timer goes off wins, or whoever is left in the match after time is up will automatically win. The players will have three hours to show their best skill in either hiding or going full out and injuring whoever gets in your way.<p>

This worried Amu, meaning that splitting up would mean their plans were no longer effective; they would have to forget about their plans and try to survive on their own. It was already thirty minutes into the fight, but no one had launched an attack yet. Ever since the last fight, the stadium had been rebuilt with more fighting area and thicker trees and bushes to hide in. It was practically a miniature forest where you can actually get lost in if you weren't careful. They were even told that there would be hidden cameras everywhere so the audience would be able to see everything that was happening. When the proctor had declared the match to officially begin, everyone had flashed away to hide.

Amu's honey eyes scanned the area ahead of her, but the only thing her vision saw was a blur of green and brown; nothing else. She had been hiding in a crouched position for almost fifteen minutes already and her legs were going numb. If she didn't move in the next few minutes, she wouldn't be able to walk or jump until the disturbing stabs of imaginary needles faded away.

* * *

><p>Rima blew her bangs out of her vision as she continued to scout around. She hadn't been able to pick up any senses of any of the other players nearby, which was a bad thing. For all she knew, they could all out in the clearing and battling it out without her. She pushed her balance off her knees and laid down into a more comfortable position; lying on her stomach. There was a crunching sound and Rima's trained instincts had forced her eyes to dart to where the noise had been heard. Seeing nothing, the warrior narrowed her eyes in suspicion before jumping up and quickly flash-stepping to another location.<p>

* * *

><p>A sharp dagger whizzed past Nagihiko's ear just inches from scratching him on his pale cheek. His eyes watched the dagger as it zipped by in a blur and hit the tree trunk right in front of him. He knew that someone was after him. Thinking fast as always, a quick idea hatched in his head as he pivoted on his left leg and jumped onto the nearest tree branch. He could feel adrenaline pump through his veins as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. There was a sudden shriek that startled him, causing him to jump a few inches and lose his balance. The purple-haired thief reached out with his gloved hands to try to catch anything that could keep him from falling ten feet. His hand had barely taken a grasp onto a low tree branch as he swung his body to land on top of the branch. He let out a sigh in relief, but his breath immediately hitched in his throat as another set of daggers whipped through the air, heading directly towards his face.<p>

Pulling out his own dagger, he used it to slash some of the flying weapons towards him and out of his face. His sharp dragon-tailed dagger had cut right through most of the blades like hot butter. Using his other hand, he grabbed another dagger that was thrown dangerously close to his neck and flicked it back to where it had been shot from with a skilled flick of his wrist. His dagger cut through one last diamond-shaped dagger before he jumped away from the dangerous spot and up higher.

Nagihiko whipped out a few purple origami strips and licked his thumb, letting his own venom leave a glazed look on his thumb. Using the thumb like a pencil, he quickly scribbled a fast "explode" on all three strips and watched the venom words glow a golden brown before the words burst into flames. He knew he had ten seconds to get rid of the paper before it had exploded completely. He gripped all three between his index and middle finger before flinging it towards where the weapons had come from. With a grunt escaping his lips, the three papers cut through the air like throwing stars before attaching itself to whatever solid object was in front of it.

After attaching itself to a solid object, the origami didn't waste any time as it exploded the minute it had touched a surface. The explosion was quite big for only three small papers. A smirk of satisfaction crawled on his face as a few nearby trees caught on fire from the blazing flames. No one or any objects had tried to find its way towards Nagihiko's face, so he was pleased to realize the enemy had fled. The thief knew he had to flee as well, since the black smoke rising upwards would give away his location. Masking his presence, he slid his yellow and gray dragon-tailed dagger back into his holster and flash-jumped away with a single thought in his mind.

'_Kukai.'_

* * *

><p>Kukai cursed in his mind as he flew from tree to tree. Ever since the fight had started, he had been trailing after Nagihiko, making sure his presence was securely masked. He had been watching Nagihiko fly from tree to tree, going towards the deepest end of the forest. He knew that if he wanted to get rid of Nagihiko right away, he might as well attack. And that was what he did. He sent a stream of daggers flying towards his comrade when he knew he was oblivious to his surroundings. Unfortunately for Kukai, he lost footing at the last minute which caused his aim to go a bit haywire. Instead of hitting directly at the purple-haired thief, the dagger had soared <em>past <em>him, just a few inches off.

If only he hadn't lost his footing, he would've been able to puncture his comrade. If only. But the past was the past, and now he was dashing from bush to bush for his life. His weapon attack earlier had no effect against Nagihiko's dagger, and he knew it himself.

"_My dragon-tailed dagger can cut through anything. Any unfortunate position in which you attack me with your own chokut_ō_ will be a plus for me because I will be able to slice right through your own and can kill you."_

"Che." Kukai scoffed as he recalled back to the very first time they had sparred together. They weren't necessarily best teammates or friends at the very beginning. Kukai didn't want to be teamed up with someone who could possibly slow him down in missions. But on their very first spar, he had been dead wrong. Nagihiko was just as fast as he was; just as strong as he was.

The second Kukai had placed his left foot on a tree branch, he immediately regretted it. He had been too distracted by his own thoughts to fail to notice the origami paper bomb slapped onto the dark brown bark. He let out a stream of curses as the bomb exploded and sent him flying backwards, hitting a tree trunk opposite of the one he just landed on. He could already feel his back bruising as tumbled down onto the ground. He realized too late that the bomb had some sort of concoction infused with it as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. Whatever that was mixed in the bomb was making him lose feeling and control of his body.

As his back hit the ground harshly, he spat blood out of his mouth in the process. From the hard impact, he had already gained his senses and control back. He hissed out in pain when he tried to sit up. After lying there for a few more seconds, he finally found the courage to sit right back up, ignoring the screeching pain of jolts in his body. His hand flew to touch his back, and he knew that he would be sore for the next week. If he was lucky, his body would understand the pain he was in and heal faster in a matter of three days.

"Ouch. That must've hurt."

"No shit!" Kukai barked at the grinning girl from up above. The rosette shook her head and jumped down from the remains of the bombed tree. Kukai began to panic, knowing he would have a hard time trying to fight with an injury that hurt like a bitch. He was stronger than Amu, he knew, but how could he even defend himself if he couldn't even stand up straight? Trying to act tough, Kukai unsheathed his chokutō sword and held it out protecting his body.

Amu rolled her eyes and raised her hands with her bow still in her left hand, feigning surrender. The chestnut haired boy raised an eyebrow at her manner.

"Dude, chill. I'm not going to kill you."

"Say that to the bomb that almost blew my head off!" Kukai shot back and quickly bit his tongue as he saw a flash of pain run across her face. In a matter of seconds, her emotions had been wiped clean from her face.

"It wasn't me who planted that bomb," Amu bends down to pick up a piece of burnt paper, "if you haven't noticed, I don't use orange origami paper."

"Mashiro." Amu nods in agreement and crumbles the remaining piece in her hand before throwing it aside.

"She must've planted a few near here."

"Aa, it's best to be careful from here on. Most of her bombs are masked too, so it makes it harder to spot them." Kukai sighed. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he knew that the reason why he hadn't seen the bomb was because they were masked. Kukai mutters a "troublesome" under his breath and scratches his head. He closes his emerald eyes and reopens them, this time an ebony black color.

Amu's eyes widened slightly as she watched him close and reopen his eyes to reveal a set of the blackest of black eyes. She watched in awe as Kukai scanned the forest, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Amu finally mustered up enough courage to ask him about his eyes.

"I'm scanning the area for any masked bombs," Kukai's eyes continued to dart back and forth.

"There are tons of them everywhere. For example don't take a step back."

Amu whipped her head around and glanced at the floor. The forest floor seemed like any regular ground, but thanks to Kukai's all-seeing evil eye, she hadn't been blown to bits yet.

"How can you see them?" Kukai flashed an arrogant smirk which she returned with an eye roll.

"My _Eye of the Eagle _is able to track masked things and see through illusions or _Origami Puppets. _Basically nothing can get pass my eyes." Kukai nonchalantly shrugged as Amu stared in awe.

"That's pretty insane! Can anyone use it?"

"Nah. It's a job-line limit, so only thieves are able to use it."

"So Nagihiko and Ikuto are also able to use it?"

"I guess. But we try not to use it too much. If we use it for more than four hours straight, we can go blind permanently. After every use of_ Eye of the Eagle _we have to turn it off for thirty minutes so our eyes can readjust." Kukai let out a soft moan as he straightened from his slouched position.

"Here, let me heal you." Amu reached her hand out with a tint of pastel lilac already glowing. Kukai eyed her suspiciously. The pinkette blew her bangs out of her eyes annoyed.

"I'm not going to kill you. Promise. I just want to help you because you helped me the other day. You know, when I stupidly ran between Rima and Ikuto without thinking." Kukai still didn't seem to trust her, so Amu snapped.

"Just let me heal you and we'll call it even!" Startled at the sudden outburst, Kukai spoke away his fazed thoughts and eventually nodded.

His hand found its way to the zipper of his green pilot jacket and unzipped it. Underneath his jacket was a white muscle shirt. His hands crossed and tugged at the hem of the shirt before it slid over her head. Amu's breath hitched as she watched his muscles flex. A light pink shade ran across her cheeks and she bit her lip to suppress herself from squealing at the gorgeous man in front of her.

"T-turn around." Amu cursed in her mind when she realized it was hard for her to speak after Kukai had just slipped his shirt off. Kukai complied, and Amu's eyes widened at the sight of his back. His entire back was bruised; splotches of blue, black, and green dotted everywhere. There were also tons of cuts and scratches from the twigs he fell through. Amu was surprised as to how his jacket and shirt had not ripped considering the tons of gashes on his back.

"This looks _really _bad."

"Exactly like what the searing pains are telling me at the moment." Amu could hint the tiny drawl of sarcasm in his voice. Without another sound, Amu concentrated hard and placed her hand on top of the bruises, working her raw energy onto Kukai's back. The black and purple spots slowly disappeared as Amu worked her way from left to right and up and down.

Kukai had tensed when the hunter vamp placed her hand on his back, but as soon as his sore back began absorbing her energy his shoulders and whole body relax. Turning off his all-seeing evil eye, he shut his eyes, comforted by the feeling of the lukewarm energy radiating off Amu's warm hand.

Amu pulled her hand away when Kukai's back was clear of any purple splotches or cuts. She had even healed some of the scars that adorned his back.

"Alright, finished." Kukai's eyes snapped open as he began to tug his shirt and jacket back on. He stood up straight and twisted his body in examination. His eyes seemed to glow in amazement.

"Ah! Arigatou Hinamori!" Amu just shrugged away his thanks and picked up her bow that lay neglected.

"Listen, as much as you want to stick by my side, I think it's best to separate. You healing me would probably already be against the rules." Kukai suddenly grew serious as he picked up his chotokō and sheathed it in its metallic case. Amu noticed that there was a tiny, golden star keychain that dangled on the hilt of the sword.

"Don't be too full of yourself Kukai; there is no way that I even want to stay with you. I just happened to be passing by and watch you barely dodge the bomb. But you're right. We should just split up." Amu gave an affirmative nod as Kukai returned one. The two then flashed out, Kukai headed towards the bombs with his ebony eyes activated and Amu gone in a flutter of pastel pink origami paper that contrasted well with the leaves.

* * *

><p>A dark blue raven flapped its wings and circled around a tree once before landing on a tree branch. The raven's beady eyes scanned the area before giving a shrill cry. Almost immediately, the bird exploded into a cluster of wrinkled origami paper. The paper fluttered down slowly before it all disappeared in a puff of smoke except one. The said one that was shaped as a raven landed into the awaiting palm of Ikuto. He began to unfold each crease and smoothed out the wrinkled paper to read what was scrawled on it. A ghost of a smirk appeared on his face when he had absorbed the letters. He crumbled the piece of paper and threw it aside. Placing his weight all on his toes, he pushed himself up and slipped his gloves on. In a blur, raven feathers were softly falling to the peaceful floor.<p>

* * *

><p>Rima halted and dove for cover behind a bush as soon as a silent crunch of a twig was heard. She could feel her adrenaline pumping through her veins in a rush as she tried to catch her breath silently. It had been about an hour since the match had started and she hadn't been able to find anyone yet. She had planted several origami bombs in one area only she was able to track, and one had been stepped on. What confused her was how none others had exploded. She told herself it wasn't possible to step on one and not step on the others. But how? How did that person manage to dodge the other twenty she had planted and masked so carefully? What she doesn't know was the Kukai had the all-seeing evil eye.<p>

Right when she was about to peer over the leaves of the bush, she started and jumped out of the way just in time to watch a dagger come whizzing by her ear. Rima watched in disbelief as the dagger embedded itself along with a lock of her hair on a tree trunk with a dull _thunk!_

Seething with anger at her hair being cut off, she twirled around to come face to face with a triumphant looking Kukai.

"Oi baka! If you're trying to kill me you might as well have better aim! You freakin' cut off a piece of my hair!" Kukai chuckled at the blonde's temper, but placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Same goes to you, Mashiro. You almost killed me back there with all your masked bombs." He gave her a grin as Rima's mouth opened to form an 'O'. So it was Kukai; it was him who had dodged all the other bombs.

"I _masked _them! I swear I did! How on earth – " Rima was cut off as a squeak escaped her lips. She ducked her head as Kukai's chotokō sliced the air where her head was supposedly supposed to be. Kukai wasted no time as he continued to slice his sword around with a quick flourish. A scowl adorned Rima's face, as she continued to either duck, jump out of the way, or takes big steps backwards. If only she could keep enough spacing between her so she could pull out her own sword.

All Rima could do for now was to keep dodging if she wanted to keep her head in place. She back flipped away from a forceful stab and flash-stepped a few feet away. She took this chance to pull her right hand into a tiny fist before letting a thunderous battle cry rip from her throat and punched the ground with all her might. Kukai cursed as the earth trembled beneath him. Before he could steady his footings, the earth crumbled beneath him to reveal a huge crater Rima had fisted.

Kukai fell ungracefully onto his back and shut his eyes, waiting for the excess cloud of dirt to waft away. He let out a sigh as he kicked himself up. He readjusted the green pilot goggles perched on top of his head and tightened the green fingerless gloves on his hands. He picked up his chotokō he had dropped from the sudden attack and flash-jumped out of the hole to find Rima waiting for him. The wind ruffled both their hair and clothes as the two positioned themselves in a ready stance.

Kukai began the first move by pulling out three ninja stars and twirling it in his hand before sending it towards the warrior vamp. Rima narrowed her eyes and swung her sword at the right time. The metals clashed with a _clink clink clink _and fell to the floor, the spinning slowing to a stop.

Rima's blade began to spurt fire, the red and orange flames engulfing the entire blade. She gave Kukai a taunting smile before dashing towards him. Kukai returned the smirk back as he pushed off his back foot to give him speed. He held his chotokō at his side as he dodged the few punches and kicks Rima had thrown. There were a few more punches before Rima used both hands to clutch at the hilt of sword so she could use her technique. He took this chance replace his real body with an _Origami Puppet _and flashed behind her. Her sword sliced through the puppet and she watched the pieces of green paper dismantle and catch on fire.

Rima's golden eyes widened as she felt the tip of Kukai's chotokō touch her neck lightly. She froze in place and gritted her teeth. But how? She hadn't even seen him _move_. She didn't dare move as Kukai pressed the blade against her throat more, drawing out a bit of blood. She could feel the smirk crawl on his face as he leaned in to whisper to her.

"_Silent Kill._"

* * *

><p>"Amu-chan." The rosette let out a startled gasp and turned her head to see a purple-haired thief standing behind her. His dragon-tailed dagger was already drawn out. Her breath hitched in his throat as she watched him readjust the headphones that had been placed around his neck casually. Nagihiko was clad in a blue vest over two shirts: one white and short sleeved, one purple and long sleeved. On his head he wore a beanie with two small, blue wings, blue fingerless gloves on his hands and around his neck were the said black headphones. He was also wearing blue cargo pants, knee pads, and black knee-high converse with blue wings on them.<p>

"Shit."

"Shit indeed, Amu-chan." Nagihiko flashed a smile as he crouched, ready to attack.

"And I thought I would've been able to last until the timer goes off without having to fight." Amu feigned disappointment, but when she lifted her head, there was a gleam of mischief in her eyes. Without any warning, Amu flicked her right wrist. Nagihiko watched in confusion, and his eyes immediately widened when he caught on what she was planning. He let out a curse and flipped out of the way as arrows and senbons began to shoot everywhere.

When Amu had flexed her wrist, she had been holding a piece of transparent string. Attached to the transparent string was a series of different traps which all resulted in a bunch of arrows and senbons launching at the misfortunate person. Nagihiko stumbled backwards, but to his horror, his ankle had pushed back the transparent string that had been placed purposely there. Amu smirked and jumped out of the way and up to a tree just in time to dodge a launch of ten arrows shooting out from deep in the woods towards Nagihiko.

The more Nagihiko jumped and shuffled backwards, the more strings he had accidentally touched which resulted in more senbons or arrows to shoot at him. Basically, the area he was standing in was the danger zone. It was where Amu had planted all her string traps like a mine field.

The purple-haired thief scowled in frustration as he bent backwards to doge a senbon flying over his face. He whipped out his dagger and began to use it to fend off the arrows. There were a few times when the senbons had been so thin that he hadn't been able to even see if flying towards him and stab him in his shoulder, legs, and arms. Nagihiko has had enough. He tried to think of a plan quickly so he wouldn't have to keep jumping and dodging attacks and making a fool out of himself for falling into such a trap.

Pumping a bit of raw energy into his feet, the wings on his shoe enlarged, taking the feature of blue energy wings. He pushed off the balls of his feet and jumped high up into the air. The wings on his shoes helped him stay up in the air, not letting gravity pull him back down. He glanced downwards and wasn't able to see anything except a litter of senbons and broken arrows. He pushed upwards higher and grinned in satisfaction to see the sunlight catch the transparent strings; the strings had been crossed everywhere, on top of other strings and zigzagging everywhere with not a single spot that hadn't been in absence of a trap.

A wry smirk began to crawl on Nagihiko's face as he slid his dagger back into his holster and hold out his left hand. Swirls of dark purple energy began to form and take shape of a large, ninja star. His eyes turned to a shade of obsidian black when he snapped his eyes shut and open. He scanned the black and white area looking for any purple color to catch his colorblind eyes. He turned his head to the right to see a purple colored girl crouched in a tree branch about to launch a series of arrows at him.

* * *

><p>Ikuto continued to tree hop through the forest and headed towards the center of the stadium. His gloved hands curled into a tight fist as he skid to a stop right at the entrance of the forest. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and walked out from under the trees. He stood in the center of the stadium and waited five seconds for a familiar purple-headed thief to dash out as well. There was about an hour left until the match was officially over.<p>

As Nagihiko spotted the blue-haired thief, he skid to a halt and clenched his fists. Ikuto raised an eyebrow elegantly as he eyed him up and down. Nagihiko had cuts all over his body, his shirt and pants ripped here and there. Ikuto could only guess it was Amu's doing since the scratches seemed familiarly like it was caus ed by either needles or arrows.

"Nagihiko. It's over for you as of now." Ikuto barred his fangs and raised his right hand to summon his _Slash Claw_. Nagihiko responded by pulling out his own dagger and holding it in front of his body. Nagihiko charged forward, kicking up a puff of dust and dirt with his long hair trailing after him. Ikuto flicked his wrist and the paw stretched forward to attack his own comrade. At the same time Nagihiko had launched his _Purple Flare_ straight at Ikuto.

Narrowing his eyes, Ikuto quickly retracted his _Slash Claw _and began to form a somewhat giant turquoise ninja star in his left hand. The star formed had then been flung out of his hand to clash with the purple star. As the two stars collided, a blinding glow of white exploded and sent the two thieves flying backwards. Ikuto flipped out of the force and landed on his knees as Nagihiko landed on the stadium wall, as if his feet were glued to the wall.

Ikuto slipped out a piece of origami paper and began to make folds in a flourish, creating a paper raven. He punctured his thumb and began to smear his droplets of blood onto the wing of his creation and yelled out a quick "multiply!" before throwing it up into the air. The bird exploded into puff of smoke. As the smoke lolled away, there were about five giant ravens flapping their wings and ready to attack.

Nagihiko scowled and pulled out his own origami paper. Using the same technique as Ikuto just used, he summoned three giant wolves. Each vampire had a glint of satisfaction on their faces as their animals lunged towards each other.

* * *

><p>Amu let out an agonizing moan as she continued to trek down the path slowly and painfully. During her fight with Nagihiko, he had gone hard on her. She didn't realize that he would eventually figure out how to dismantle all her string traps. One of her mistakes was the fact that she stayed at the same place too long. The other mistake was to mask her presence. She had forgotten that all vampire thieves had the all-seeing evil eye. She had been so focused on plotting another plan and preparing to launch an arrow to notice that Nagihiko had found her.<p>

He had thrown some weird purple star at her, and she was grateful to have dodged it in time. She could've only guessed the color purple meant some kind of deadly poison. Although she was lucky enough to dodge the star, she wasn't lucky enough to notice the three huge wolves he had summoned. The wolves had chased her down and they were too fast for her to try to fight off. They had almost mauled her if it she hadn't led the wolves deeper into the forest and into her origami bomb traps. She had survived the mauling with a few deep scratches and a broken wrist. She didn't want to heal herself because she wanted to save her energy if she was to come across Ikuto or someone else.

She was lucky Nagihiko had eventually left her lying almost unconscious from the previous mauling; the cuts ran deep and she was bleeding a lot. Amu had somehow managed to convince herself that the three hours was almost up and that she shouldn't give up just yet. She told herself that Rima would be disappointed to hear that she had been disqualified from just a single wolf attack.

Now Amu was staggering out the forest and into the clearing of the stadium. As the dirt ground came into view, her eyes widened in terror as she saw Ikuto pierce his claw mercilessly into Nagihiko's stomach. Her knees buckled as she watched blood spew from Nagihiko's mouth. She slowly sank to her knees as she slowly absorbed the scene she had just witnessed. Ikuto tore his gaze away from Nagihiko and locked his eyes with Amu's own eyes. One step towards her was all it took to make her tremble. Tears brimmed the corners of her eyes as fuzzy flashes of memories ran through her mind.

Before Amu could analyze what was happening, Kukai had jumped out of the forest with a whooping scream. There was a bright grin on his face although his body told a different story; a line of blood dripped from his mouth, his goggles were missing, and his hair had been tousled wildly like he had been involved with a goose chase. The moment his eyes flickered from Nagihiko to Ikuto to Amu, he had sobered up, his lips becoming a tight thin line and his emerald eyes hard.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a loud buzzing had interrupted him. He snapped his mouth shut and turned his body away from the traumatic scene. No matter how hard he tried to force away the thoughts, he couldn't help but picture Nagihiko on floor with blood splattered everywhere on Ikuto. Nagihiko's usually bright amber eyes were now a dull color as his eyes were half-lidded like he was about to slip out of conscious. He could still picture Ikuto's dark clothing soiled with Nagihiko's blood and his bloody claw held up in defense. His eyes showed blood lust. And how could he forget the rosette slumped on the ground, trembling with streaks of fresh tears rolling down her face?

Kukai hadn't noticed that Daisuke had jumped down from above and clear his throat. Daisuke was slumped in his usual slouched position, not minding the blood at all.

"There are only three players left standing in the match. Hinamori Amu, Souma Kukai, and Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Fujisaki Nagihiko and Mashiro Rima had been reported to me that they were not able to last until the three hour mark was up. Therefore they lose."

No one dared to say anything as a few medics were rushing towards Nagihiko to try to save him. Kukai gave a pointed glare at Ikuto who stared back at him with a blank expression. Kukai scowled and left the stadium in blur, catching up to the medics who were carrying Nagihiko to the hospital.

Amu clenched her jaw and tried to suppress the sobs that were trying to break free. Hot tears continued to drip down her face and onto the dusty floor. She asked herself over and over again how Ikuto could even think about killing his own comrade. Angry tears began to fall now, and she clawed at the ground in anger. She stood up slowly and eyed Ikuto with a glare. Ikuto on the other hand, just raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're a monster Ikuto! How could you even dare to try to kill off your own friend all for one _stupid _game? It's just a damn game!" Amu yelled through clenched teeth, trying to hold down her boiling anger. To her disgust, Ikuto didn't bother to apologize or say anything to defend himself. He just gave her another pointed stare and stalked off.

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**M****ou- Jeez or Geeze (same meaning but people spell it differently)**

**C****hokut****ō- A type of Japanese sword **

**Skills:**

**Slash Claw- The art of summoning your raw energy to create a somewhat solid form of a purple cat paw. This skill can only be used by claw wielders. The cat claw can be stretched to attack from far away. Judging from the color of the cat paw, it has been confirmed that the paw has poison contained in it.  
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_**Review skills:**_

**Flame of Phoenix- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to create scorching, hot fire surround your sword blade. It is said that the fire rese****mbles the shape of the phoenix head. This technique's weakness is water and ice. Just one touch of the fire leaves a bad burn. This skill can only be used by the warrior class.**

**Blooming Blizzard- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to turn any normal arrow into an ice arrow. When the skill is complete, there will be a thin layer of blue ice covering the arrow. When the arrow is launched and touches anything solid, the arrow explodes and leaves behind an ice shaped bloom of a flower. Whatever touches the ice becomes frozen. This skill can only be used by the hunter class.**

**Fifty Lightning Bugs- The art of summoning your raw energy and concentration to create a white-blue lightning surrounding your sword blade. It is said that when the technique is used, the lightning is bright enough and strong enough to light up the entire area surrounding you, making the scene look like a fluster of fifty lightning bugs surrounding you. Even the slightest touch of the lightning will leave an aftershock every once in a while if not treated immediately. This skill can only be used by the warrior class.**

**Origami Puppet- The art of using enchanted origami paper to form puppets of yourself to manipulate your enemy into thinking it is the real you. This technique doesn't require you to use much concentration or raw energy. The downside of this technique is that when your puppet self is hit, it will disappear leaving behind a flutter of origami paper. This skill can be used by any vampire class.**

**Silent Kill****- The art of killing in silence, using only his hearing sense, eye sight, and agility skills to dodge or attack but is able to kill in one single slit of the throat. Enemies are unfortunate to come across a vampire who masters the silent killing, not being able to locate where your enemy is, causing you to panic and lose your guard. **

**Purple Flare****- The art of summoning the devil vampire's most powerful throwing star. The star itself is made of purple blood, the strongest blood there ever is and most poisonous. Just a small cut from it can kill you instantly. No medic vampire has ever found a healing for purple blood. **

**Avenger****- The art of summoning the all time strongest God devil vampire's most powerful throwing star. The star is made from the purest blood you can ever find; white blood. **

****{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	11. Broken Bonds

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: Shugo Chara!, Rapunzel, and The Little Mermaid, and associated characters are not a property of mine.****  
><strong>

**Chapter 10: Broken Bonds****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"Ohayo, Kaasan!" A small six-year-old boy gave his mother a mischievous grin before running to pounce into his mother's awaiting arms. Hoshina Souko gave her young son a dainty smile as she combed his messy hair straight with her delicate fingers.<p>

"Kaasan," Ikuto whined and swatted his mother's hands away, "you're ruining my perfectly good hair!" Souko laughed an airy laugh and nodded, acting like what he said was to be taken very serious. Ikuto continued with his pout, but within a few seconds, a smile broke out.

"What are we gonna do today Kaasan? Can we go to the park? Are you going to make me jello? Blood jello? Did you know it's actually my favorite even if it sounds really gross?" Souko cut off her son with a finger to her lips. Ikuto watched curiously, but nodded, keeping his mouth shut.

"Gomen, Ikuto-kun, but Kaasan has chores to do around the house today. Of course I would make you jello, but after you feed for lunch. And yes, I do know blood jello is your favorite." Ikuto perked up at the mention of jello and nuzzled his head into this mother's chest.

"You're the best, Kaasan!"

"Hai, hai." Souko gives her son a soft, appreciative smile. "Run along now. Why don't you go play with Utau-chan?" Ikuto pouted but climbed off his mother lap nonetheless. He gave one last glance at Souko's smile and stalked off to find his younger sister.

It wasn't like he didn't like playing with Utau. It was just that she was always clingy and always forced him to play tea party with her and her dolls. Ikuto was a boy! He doesn't play with dolls and pretend to drink piping hot tea in dainty little princess cups!

"Utau!" A tiny girl with already long blond hair that rivaled Rapunzel's glanced up from the picture book she was reading.

"Ikuto!" Utau threw the book aside and scrambled to attack her brother in a crushing hug. The girl was only three-years-old, but she already had half the strength of a pure-breed warrior vamp that had unlocked their full power. Ikuto let out a groan in protest and lightly shoved his sister away.

"Ikuto! Did you come to play Family with me? What about Tea Party? Or how about you read to me? Hide and Seek? Ooh! I can be a princess and you can be the prince that saves me!" Utau squealed happily and bounced from foot to foot.

Ikuto sighed and rubbed his eyes. All of the options sounded stupid and boring to him. The only one that didn't sound troublesome at all was reading to Utau. Except for the fact that Utau sometimes interrupted him and made him change the ending because she just didn't like the ending. But then again, it was definitely much better than playing Family or Prince and Princess with his eccentric sister.

"I guess I can read to you," he paused and let a smirk crawl on his face after an afterthought. "Or I can teach you a new technique." Utau's violet eyes widened visually.

"B-but Okaasan doesn't like it when you teach me things," Utau whispered quietly and twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"Kaasan doesn't have to find out. Besides, Tousan would've encouraged us to learn more techniques so it doesn't really matter anyways." Ikuto smiled triumphantly and began to exit Utau's pink-infested room.

Utau reached out her hand but quickly withdrew it back. She honestly wanted to learn a new technique, but she also didn't want to be the bad girl who got scolded by their mother. Utau bounced in anticipation for a few seconds, watching Ikuto's back disappearing down the hallway. She let out a soft squeak and quickly ran down after Ikuto, calling for her brother. "Matte kudasai, Ikuto!"

Ikuto could feel the satisfying smirk grow on his face as he felt his little sister's tiny hands clench the hem of his shirt nervously.

"Daijoubu," he murmured softly. "We'll be careful."

The two Tsukiyomi siblings stealthily slipped past the kitchen when their mother's back was turned away from them and quietly pulled open the heavy front door. Before Utau could take one step through the door, their mother cleared her throat. Ikuto and Utau froze in place.

"Where do you think you two are going?" Souko asks.

Ikuto turned around and caught the sight of their mother's beautiful face sporting a slight frown. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an answer. Ikuto's eyes darted towards Utau who was frozen in place.

Racking his brain for ideas, Ikuto feigns a sigh. "You caught us, Kaasan." Souko arches an eyebrow at her young son's response. A slight shriek escapes Utau's mouth as she looks at Ikuto, surprised at how easily he was to give up.

"Pardon?"

"We were going to go out and play Tag or Hide and Seek." There was definitely something going on, but Souko just couldn't put her finger on it. She gives her son a look that reads "you're lying," but doesn't say anything otherwise.

"All right, you two be careful then." Utau nods her head rapidly and runs out the door. Ikuto discreetly rolls his eyes at his younger sister's antics. _'Way to not make it obvious_!' he thinks. Before Ikuto could give his mother another innocent smile and run out the door as well, Souko's hand wraps around her son's arm lightly. Ikuto gives his mother a puzzled look.

"Please don't do anything reckless. _He's_ watching us," she whispers into his ear quietly. Ikuto grits his teeth and clenches his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Aa, wakatteru. Don't worry." Ikuto puts on a brave smile and runs out the door to find Utau hiding behind a cherry blossom tree.

As the beam of sunshine hit his face and the sound of chirping birds reached his ears, he let out a breath he hadn't realize he had been holding in.

"That was close." Ikuto turns around to face the younger Tsukiyomi who was to become the heiress in the future alongside with Ikuto, who would become the heir to the clan. Utau emerges from behind the tree with a small frown on her face and an expression that read "I told you so!"

Before Utau could open her mouth, Ikuto interrupts her.

"Okay! Today I'm gonna show you the skill where you can summon a weapon so you don't always have to carry one around with you when you're older!"

"Can you really do that?" asks Utau with excitement in her eyes.

"Yup! Tousan taught me it before you know…" Ikuto pauses and frowns.

"Anyways, I was taught _Slash Claw_, but I don't think that will suit you." Ikuto adds, quickly changing the subject before Utau would start crying.

"_Slash Claw_?" she asks.

"Oh! You've never really seen it before haven't you? You were sick the last time Tousan taught me it. Here, I'll show you!" Ikuto grins mischievously and tells his sister to step aside.

Closing his eyes and concentrating on molding his raw energy like what Tsukiyomi Aruto had taught him, Ikuto takes in a deep breath before opening his eyes once again. "_Slash Claw!" _With a skilled flick of his left wrist, a giant purple cat paw lunges towards the bush in front of Ikuto and swipes at it, cutting the bush in half.

Utau's eyes widen in awe, and her mouth forms a perfect 'O.'

"Teach me that! That was super cool!" Utau giggles and jumps up from the ground to attack her brother in a hug.

"U-utau!" Ikuto stammers and falls onto his back from the sudden force. Utau falls with him and continues to giggle, not letting go of him. Ikuto groans and tries to pry her arms away from his waist.

"Get off," he complains, a twitch of annoyance on his face. Utau finally gets off and stands up, bouncing with excitement.

"Ikuto, you _have _to teach me that! That was super cool!"

"Er, I don't think you'll be able to perfect that technique. It was pretty hard even for me to learn it. But since you have really good energy control, I can teach you to summon a weapon. How does that sound?" To Ikuto's annoyance, Utau gives off a high pitched squeal in delight.

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes ye–mmph!"

"Okay, okay!" Ikuto shuts her up by placing a hand over her mouth.

"First things first," Ikuto says and sits down on the soft grass, Utau following suit. "What kind of weapon do you want to use?"

"Hmm," Utau thought and placed a finger to her lips–a habit she had always had whenever she was thinking hard.

"What kind of weapons are there?"

"Well, it depends; there are all sorts of different types of weapons. There are swords, daggers, giant fans, bows and arrows." Ikuto also sheepishly adds after a few seconds, "and there's also a lot more, but I can't really remember what Tousan had told me."

"A trident!"

"Eh?" asks Ikuto puzzled at his sister's sudden outburst.

"I want a trident as my weapon."

"Why do you want that?" His sister could have any type of weapon in the entire world and she chose a trident? Sometimes he just couldn't understand his sister at all.

"Because it looks cool. Duh, Ikuto! And in _The Little Mermaid_, Ariel's father always carried one! I want to carry one too! Maybe I can be a queen when I carry that!" Ikuto sighed wearily, but nodded nonetheless.

"Aa, a trident then. You can use a trident." If he heard one more thing about _The Little Mermaid_, he was going to kill himself. It was always "_The Little Mermaid_ this, _The Little Mermaid_ that!" around Utau. _The Little Mermaid_ had always been Utau's favorite princess story, and she had once proclaimed that it will always be her favorite no matter what other new princess stories she will read. To be honest, Ikuto had always thought Utau would like _Rapunzel_ more because of her hair. But apparently, it was _The Little Mermaid_ Utau had favored.

"Okay, first you have to close your eyes and take in a deep breath," says Ikuto remembering back to what his father had taught him. Utau nods and complies, closing her eyes and taking in a somewhat overly-exaggerated deep breath.

"Now keep your eyes closed and imagine your energy in your hand." Utau kept her eyes shut tightly and imagined her energy swirling in her hand. She let an airy giggle escape her lips as she felt something tickling the palms of her hands.

"Utau! Don't laugh! It's going to ruin your technique," Ikuto whines. "Now you have to start over!" Utau snapped open her eyes and pouted.

"No! I won't giggle! I promise! I don't want to start over!"

"Just start over. You already lost your concentration."

"Fine, meanie!" Utau stuck out her tongue and shut her eyes once more, taking in another exaggerated breath and concentrated on molding her energy into the palms of her hands, feeling the tingling feeling once more, but this time holding her giggle in.

"Okay, now imagine the trident in your head."

Inside Utau's mind was a black trident, shiny and sleek. She couldn't wait for it to appear in her hand!

"Okay, now you have to concentrate as hard as you can so it can appear in your hand!" Utau complied, but nothing happened. Not even after a minute passed. She opened her eyes and stared at her empty hands.

"Hey! It didn't work you liar!" Ikuto raised his hands defensively.

"Don't blame me! _Slash Claw_ didn't work the first time either! Try again," commanded Ikuto.

And so the two Tsukiyomi siblings spent half the afternoon trying to get Utau to create a weapon for her. Even with her flawless energy control, it was hard for her. But then again, she _was _only three-years-old.

When it was around one in the afternoon, Utau had finally managed to summon a black trident. She let out a soft squeak at the sudden weight in her hand and snapped her eyes open. She gaped at the sleek and shiny trident in her hand, the points on the weapon pointy and ready to either offend or defend.

"Woah," Ikuto breathed out. "Now we need a name for your technique. Tousan and I came up with _Slash Claw_, so what do you want yours to be?"

After thinking for a couple of minutes, Utau spoke her thoughts. "Princess's Trident." Ikuto grimaces slightly.

"Ano… that doesn't sound very nice with it. Your trident's black. Don't princesses like the color…pink?" Ikuto was slightly afraid at that moment. He was afraid that Utau would get mad and burst into tears, causing a scene. Instead, Utau thought for a few seconds and slowly nodded.

"It's black… like a nightmare," she whispers. Before Ikuto could open his mouth, Utatu interrupts. "_Nightmare Trident_. I want it to be called that." Ikuto grins and gives his sister a nod.

"Aa, then it will be called _Nightmare Trident_!"

"Ikuto! Utau!" Ikuto and Utau whip around to face an angry Souko. She quickly runs over to her children and tugs on their wrists.

"Put it away, Utau," demands Souko. Utau, who was horror-stricken at her mother's unusually angry appearance, nods dumbly and dispels the technique.

"What's wrong, Kaasan?" asks Ikuto.

"I told you not to be careless! I told you so many times to never use another technique. If _he _finds out, we'll all be in trouble!"

"Oh, but _he_ already found out, dear Souko." Souko's eyes widen in fear as she turns around to face her new husband; Hoshina Kazuomi.

Kazuomi had a blank expression on his face as he stared down at his new wife and her children.

"Che. I tell you to never teach your children anymore techniques and you don't listen to me. Come, Souko. Let's a have a chat." Kazuomi turns around and expectantly waits for her to follow him.

Souko looks at her children worriedly and stands up from the crouched position she was in earlier, dusting off her apron.

"Please go back to your rooms. I'll call you when lunch is served," she says to Ikuto and Utau. Utau nods and runs back into the compound without another thought. Ikuto, on the other hand, grits his teeth.

"But Kaasan –"

"Ikuto. Please." Ikuto sighs and nods reluctantly. He runs ahead of his step-father and turns his head to glare at Kazuomi. Kazuomi returns the glare, but with a modified version that sent shivers down the young Tsukiyomi's spine.

"Souko," Ikuto heard his step-father bark out. Curious, Ikuto hid behind the door and listened, making use of his young vampire skills.

"Kazuomi," Souko began but never finished. Ikuto heard a sickening slap and watched as his mother fell to the ground, holding on to a red cheek.

"What did I say? I told you not to teach them any techniques, but you went behind my back and disobeyed me!"

"It wasn't me who taught them that!"

"What are you trying to say? Lying won't do you any good, you piece of trash!" Ikuto bit back his tongue as he watched his mother look up at her new husband with angry tears in her eyes. Hurt, he saw in her eyes.

"So you're trying to tell me that you don't believe me? Despicable," Souko spat out.

"Pathetic. You can't even go a single conversation without crying. Annoying piece of trash." Kazuomi sneers and kicks Souko in the ribs, smirking as he heard a satisfying crack. She lets out a pained howl and clutches at her chest, trying to keep her breathing even. Ikuto's eyes widen and his hatred for Kazuomi has been taken to another level.

As Kazuomi walks away, Ikuto runs out and kneels beside his mother. He notices the palm of her left hand glowing a pastel lilac.

"Kaasan? Are you okay?" he whispers and frowns at his mother's pained face. Souko places the glowing had to her ribs and manages to rasp out a 'don't worry about me.'

"K-kaasan. Gomen… I didn't mean to get you in trouble!" Ikuto's bottom lip quivers and he tries to stop himself from crying. He was six-years-old for crying out loud! Most six-year-old vampires were already out and crying over broken bones and ripped arms, not because he had gotten his mother in trouble!

"Shh," Souko cooed, ruffling Ikuto's hair. "I'm fine. Don't worry about Kaasan, ne Ikuto-kun? Smile. Smile for Kaasan." Ikuto manages to give her a watery smile, which she accepts.

"Good. Now don't cry, baby. Everything will be fine."

* * *

><p>At five in the morning, Ikuto was woken by a loud explosion that shook the Tsukiyomi compound. His eyes snapped up and he sat up, gasping. He flung his covers off his body and jumped from the bed only to be caught in a tangle of blankets. He heard five more explosions going off continuously, and he heard the high pitched wail of his sister next door. What was going on, he asked himself over and over again as he finally freed himself from the blankets and bolted out the door.<p>

As he slammed open Utau's door, he noticed the little girl curled up in a lump underneath the blankets, trembling.

"Utau," he called out. His sister's blond hair poked out from underneath the covers, and he realized she had been crying. Her violet eyes were flooded with tears as she reached out her hand helplessly towards her brother. Ikuto ran over to her princess bed and picked her up, carrying her close to his body.

"Ik-ikuto! What's going on?" she asked through choked sobs. How could Ikuto answer if he didn't know what was going on himself? He chose to ignore her, and instead ran out of her room and towards the master bedroom where his mother had slept in.

The house was unusually quiet, Ikuto realized. Despite the fact that it was only five in the morning, there would usually already be servants up and bustling about. With his hands full, Ikuto kicked the double doors to the master bedroom open with two kicks, calling for their mother. To their surprise, no one was inside and the bed had been made neatly. It was odd to Ikuto and to Utau as well; their mother was never up this early. The latest Souko would sleep in until would be seven.

"O-okaasan," Utau choked and wailed for their mother.

"Shh!" Ikuto hushed his crying sister and darted down the narrow hallways and towards the kitchen. Again, there was no one. It didn't take Ikuto long to realize that the whole Tsukiyomi compound was abandoned except for the two Tsukiyomi siblings. The last place to check would be the front yard, which was where Ikuto dashed to next. Throughout the scavenger hunt to find at someone – anyone – Ikuto had switched Utau to carrying her on his back so the both of them would be more comfortable.

As soon as Ikuto pushed the front door open, his eyes widened and his mind went numb as he took in the surroundings. Fire. Blood. Smoke. Dead civilians scattered everywhere. He could hear Utau's breath hitch in her own throat as she also absorbs the scene, scarring her young mind.

"Foolish Souko. Look what she has done to our compromise between the humans and the vampires." The voice registers in Ikuto's mind, and he finally realizes it was Kazuomi who had stood behind the two siblings.

"K-kaasan did this…?" he asks dumbly.

"It would seem like it. Tell me Ikuto. Who is it that you see standing in front of you mercilessly stabbing an innocent human with her katana?" Kazuomi almost purrs in delight as he kneels down and whispers into his step-son's ear. Ikuto slides Utau off his back, taking a small step back.

Standing in front of them not only a few feet away, was their mother dressed in a white yukata that was bloodstained with human blood. Her dirty blond hair blew in her face, and she slowly reached up to hook a piece behind her ear, staining it with the blood on her hands.

"Kaasan!" Ikuto screams, terrified. His mother would never do this. She was the gentlest person he had ever met! So why? Why would she go around slaughtering and creating a massacre? Souko's eyes darted towards her children and husband. She coldly ignored her son's cry and her daughter's paralyzed form. Taking a step back, she pulled her katana out of the victim's body and raised it to her lips, licking the blood clean off the metal sword with her tongue.

"Tell me Ikuto," she began, her voice cold and eyes hard. "Do you hate me? Do you hate your own mother?"

Confused, Ikuto took another step back and tripped over Utau's body. For an unknown reason, Ikuto couldn't tear his gaze away from his mother's eyes. They were filled with blood lust and something else. Was it regret? He didn't know as he landed on the floor next to his pale-faced sister.

"If you hate me enough because I killed your friends," she points the tip of her katana towards Ikuto's group of human friends that lay slumped together surrounded by a pool of blood, "then come find me. When you are fifteen, come find me. I will wait for you arrival. You will be filled with enough vengeance and hatred to have the heart to kill your own mother who has murdered almost the entire village. When you turn fifteen and have your full powers, come find me."

Ikuto stares back with tears blurring his sight. His mother walks to him, and he begins to tremble, unable to move like he had been paralyzed. His eyes widen as his mother leans in to give him a ghost of a kiss on his cheek. His breath comes out shaky and uneven as he watches his mother leaning over to do the same with Utau. Instead, Ikuto finally manages to grab a hold of his senses and holds up his fist to punch his mother in the jaw with enough force to send her head flying to the right and cause her jaw to swell and bruise.

"Don't touch her!" he screams, voice full of hatred and disbelief already. Startled, Souko backs away with her hand pressed upon her swollen cheek and quite possibly broken jaw. Turning her back towards her children, she disappears in flutter of peacock feathers, leaving the two Tsukiyomi siblings forever without another word.

* * *

><p>"Che. You have no mercy even for your own dad?" Kazuomi managed to speak even though there was a katana stabbed dangerously close to his heart. He spat out the blood that clogged his throat.<p>

"You are not my father," Ikuto replies rather coldly. "Tell me, where is Souko?"

"Hn. Souko, eh?" he coughs and sucks in a painful gasp as his hand clutches at his heart. After a few more seconds of coughing and throwing up blood, Kazuomi's eyes flicker towards the now fifteen-year-old Ikuto. "Foolish Souko is waiting for you…. at the church…" he rasps out.

"Hn," Ikuto smirks almost sadistically and lifts his clawed hand. "Die, old man. _Slash Claw_!" There was a splatter of blood drenching the master bedroom and staining the wooden floor boards. Exiting the bedroom, Ikuto steps over slouched servants, ignoring the blood and gore that decorated the champagne colored walls.

"Gomen, Utau," he murmurs and flashes out of the Tsukiyomi compound, ignoring half of the relatives and family members that lay dead on the ground. _Bastards deserve this,_ he thinks to himself as a flash of pink and warm honey fills his mind.

* * *

><p>As Ikuto pushes open the church doors with a loud bang, he narrows his eyes at the lone figure that stood in the front where normally priests would stand. Hoshina Souko looks up from the ground and tilts her head to side, letting her blond curls slip out from behind her ear. She gives her son a soft smile and walks towards him, placing a cold hand onto his cheek.<p>

"My, you've gotten taller. Do girls swoon over you, Ikuto?" With lightning fast reflexes, Ikuto uses his claw and slashes through Souko. Instead of blood, an explosion of yellow origami paper flutters all around and litters the tiled floor.

"Because of you, our compromises between the humans and the vampires have long disappeared. Humans had foolishly declared war on the vampires, but have backed down on the last minute. Vampires are now hated on. All because of you. Do you have no regret?" His obsidian eyes lock onto the real Souko's eyes.

Souko's eyes flashes for a second, but she smiles nonetheless. "You've matured Ikuto. Would you like to talk things out? Come, I have made blood jello for you," she says calmly and holds out her hand.

"I'm done talking," he says dangerously. "The Tsukiyomi Clan and Hoshina Clan will never be the same anymore. But it doesn't matter anymore. Because the person I love has to go through something she doesn't deserve to go through. Because it's too dangerous. Because she's different. Because she's no longer mortal. The Tsukiyomi Clan and Hoshina Clan dies out today. And so will you." With that, he lunges towards Souko.

_Our bonds are all gone. What happened, Kaasan? Bonds are broken, and so is the Vampire-Human pact. Tell me Kaasan, what about Tousan? Did he break your heart and mind so much you broke? Where has he gone? Why did he leave? He had such a strong bond…. with you. With me. With Utau. With us…_

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Matte kudasai! - Please wait!**

**Daijoubu - Don't worry/It's okay**

**Wakatteru - I know already.**

**Ano - Um/Uh**

**Fact: There used to be a Vampire-Human pact worldwide, where whenever war was to break out between the town against other town, the vampires would help out the town they lived in. In return, the humans would leave the vampires alone and often gave vampires whatever they wanted, and making them promise to never feed off of or go against their own townspeople. **

**Fact: After the ****near slaughter of the town Seiyo by Souko, all towns and villages around the world has destroyed their own Vampire-Human pact; they weren't going to take the chances of having their own village's vampires betray them, thus causing an almost chaos between the two different breeds. One of them being that vampires now feed on whatever blood they find, even if it means their own civilians.**

**Fact: A pure-breed vampire receives their full powers when they turn fifteen. Although born as a vampire, they don't get their maximum vampire powers until they hit the fifteen age mark. However, pure-breed vamps are still able to train and ready themselves with the little power that they have until turning fifteen.  
><strong>

**Fact: Kazuomi is a pure-breed vampire. He just comes from a different clan; the Hoshina Clan, the same clan Souko is originally from. **

**Fact: Tsukiyomi Aruto was the most recent clan leader to the Tsukiyomi Clan. The previous leaders to the clan had rejected the idea of Aruto marrying Souko, but the two married secretly. When the marriage was eventually revealed and the fact that Souko was pregnant with Ikuto, the first Tsukiyomi leader and the first Hoshina leader decided to emerge the two clans into one, taking the name Tsukiyomi. Before Utau was born, Aruto had suddenly disappeared overnight, thus Souko was forced to marry Kazuomi.**

****{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	12. Dakara, Yurushite Kudasai!

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!****  
><strong>

**Chapter 11: Dakara, Yurushite Kudasai! (Therefore, Please Forgive Me!)****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>Rima wandered through the hospital hallways, crinkling her nose at the smell of antiseptics. It was official; Rima <em>hated <em>hospitals. The hospital always smelled nasty, the fluorescent lights were always too bright, and the sight of near-dying vamps made her shiver. She couldn't understand how Utau could work in such a tear-jerking job. She wondered if Utau had ever blamed herself for not being able to save someone.

Although Utau was the leader of the Hoshina Clan, there were always times where the clan's vampires end up hurt from missions, and Utau was summoned to the abandoned hospital compound across from the hotel.

The hospital compound was small for any normal hospital. The side of the town where the Hoshina Clan was located at had been deserted for over ten years ago. No townsmen had dared to set foot near either the Hoshina compound or the Tsukiyomi compound ever since the Vampire-Human pact had been broken.

The petite warrior breathed out an annoyed sigh and muttered a "troublesome" under her breath. This must be her third time visiting the Tsukiyomi hospital, she realized. The first was to visit Amu after the first battle. The second time herself after being caught by Kukai. Luckily, there hadn't been much serious damage; she had forfeited before things had gotten out of hand. After forfeiting, Rima was brought to the hospital to bandage her wounds and received a check-up from the medics to see if she had any serious injuries (which she already knew she did not).

Now she was back in the hospital again, thank you very much, Nagihiko. Now that things were finally calming down, she finally had the chance to visit the purple-haired thief like how she had intended to in the first place. Rima hoped there would be no more complications to get in her way. Unfortunately, she thought too soon.

"Are you lost?" Rima hears someone ask. Correction: sneers. She turns around slowly to face a tall nurse with blond, bouncy curls. The nurse had light makeup and a smear of cherry red lipstick. But the feature that stood out the most was her striking viridian eyes.

"No," Rima replies coldly. The blond nurse twitches with annoyance from Rima's curt reply.

"Sorry sweetie, but children aren't allowed to walk around the hospital without a parent or guardian around," the nurse smirks and clutches the clipboard she was holding to her chest.

_'Say what bitch?' _Rima thinks but doesn't say. Instead, Rima's doe-like eyes narrow to slits as she takes a step forward. Grabbing the nurse by her curls, Rima yanks her down to her height. The nurse lets out a startled shriek and drops the plastic clipboard with a clatter, and the papers fly everywhere.

"You're a medic vamp, and I'm a warrior vamp. I guess we _both _know who the stronger one here is. So I suggest you keep quiet unless you want to end up here as the _patient_," Rima threatens, her voice low and dangerous.

Her viridian eyes widening, the nurse nods dumbly, and Rima releases the grip on her hair. Bending down to pick up the dropped clipboard and paper, the nurse watches fearfully as Rima walks away.

It was only ten minutes later until Rima realized she actually never looked up Nagihiko's room. Well that's embarrassing. Noticing Rima's brooding character, a medic dressed in a red vest and leggings with a scrub on smiled amused at Rima's stupor.

"Konnichiwa. You lost?" Startled, Rima jumps. She silently curses herself and wills the blush on her cheeks to die down.

"Actually, yeah. I kinda am," she admits, playing with the hem of her purple battle outfit.

"Who are you here for? Maybe I can help you."

"Fujisaki Nagihiko."

"Oh. I'm about to check-in with him. Perfect! Just follow me." And to Rima's dismay, the medic walks two rooms down and knocks twice before pushing the door open to room 203.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu, Fujisaki-san. How are you feeling today? And it seems you have a visitor."

The purple-haired thief looked up from the glass of artificial blood idly sitting on top of his palm. He manages to give the medic a bright smile despite being all bandaged up and having a slightly hard time breathing.

Rima flinched at the sight of her ex-best friend looking fragile and in pain.

"Actually, I'm in a bit of pain. Do you think you can do anything about it? Ah, konnichiwa, Rima-chan." Nagihiko's pained face disappears as he spots his visitor.

"Mhm," the medic hummed in response and moved to Nagihiko's side. Rima watched silently as her hands glowed a pretty lilac color.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Here," Nagihiko says pointing to his ribs. The medic nodded and set to work. She placed her glowing hands right about his chest. Her eyes fluttered closed and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Rima noticed how Nagihiko seemed to relax as the medic worked her energy into his system, scanning the progress of healing while soothing his still slightly fractured ribs.

"You're healing very nicely, and there doesn't seem to be anything bad," the medic pulled away and added, "I've used a bit of my energy to sooth your aching muscles, so it shouldn't hurt as much. Perhaps a few soreness here and there, but it shouldn't be something you wouldn't be able to handle."

"Aa, arigatou, Haruka-san!"

"No problem. Just make sure to drink plenty of blood tablets so your body can adjust faster and the sooner you will be able to leave and get real blood. Just ring for me if you need anything else. In the meantime, I'll let you two catch up."

After giving a polite wave, Haruka exited the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Rima alone in the room with Nagihiko. Nagihiko watched curiously as the petite warrior padded over beside his bed and grabbed the glass, putting it up to his lips. He gave her a questioning look.

"You heard what she said. Drink it," she demanded. There was a flash of amusement in his eyes as he opened his mouth wide enough for the cool liquid to slip past his lips and down his throat. He waited for Rima to tilt the glass, but she never did.

Quirking a brow, he said, "You do realize that you're supposed to tip the glass more so stuff would actually go in my mouth, right?"

Rima blinked once before finally realizing she had been too busy staring at Nagihikp's marble-smooth lips to actually feed him the artificial blood mixed with water.

Blushing furiously, Rima snapped, "Of course I knew that! Who do you take me for, an idiot? I _know _how to feed people!"

Nagihiko snickered under his breath and nodded. "Oh please, Rima-chan! It was obvious enough you were staring at me. And now your lies are just as transparent!"

Scowling, Rima tilted the glass a little too far, taking advantage of Nagihiko laughing. The red liquid suddenly poured into his mouth and down his throat. Nagihiko stopped laughing to choke. Not stopping until the glass was now empty and spilled all over the thief, Rima pulled back to show him a sickening Splenda sweet smile.

"How was that for feeding you? Oops, you got a little spilled on your shirt," she drawled sarcastically before her lips broke out into a satisfied smirk at the sight of Nagihiko's half-scowl half-glare.

"Cute, Rima-chan," he retorted wryly while wiping his mouth with his pajama sleeves. Rima stifled a laugh at the sight of his mouth. The artificial blood had stained his mouth with faint streaks of red running down his chin.

"Urusai," he growled, slightly agitated at the fact that Rima was laughing at her eyes, Rima plucked a tissue out of the tissue box sitting on the bedside table and inched towards Nagihiko. He scowled at her. Sighing, Rima pulled back and crossed her arms.

"Stop being stupid and let me help you!" Biting back his tongue, Nagihiko restrained himself from snapping out a few inappropriate words. Instead, he settled for another scowl.

"Man up," Rima murmured at his half-scowl half-pout. Nagihiko felt the bed sink from Rima's weight as she kneeled on the bed to reach his face. Despite her being a warrior and having tremendous strength, her touches were delicate and careful.

His eyes trailed after her hands, taking in the delicate and light strokes. He reminisced the times when Rima used to hold his hand only because she thought he was a girl named Nadeshiko.

Without thinking, Nagihiko swooped down and closed the gap between the two contrasting vampires, capturing her soft lips. He heard Rima breathe in a sharp gasp when she felt his lips on her own. He continued to give her soft kisses, and eventually Rima caved. Her eyes fluttered closed and she responded back with her own kisses. Nagihiko couldn't help but not suppress the smirk as he smiled into the kiss.

Eventually pulling away from lack of oxygen, his eyes fluttered open (when had he even closed them?) and his sight refocused on the girl with slightly bruised lips parted open. Rima quickly stood up and backed away, like a frightened deer. Her eyes were wide in alarm, but Nagihiko couldn't help but notice her body position – half her body turned away, yet the other half still facing him. She liked it, but at the same time hated it, he realized.

"Rima." The way he whispered her name breathlessly sent shivers down her spine.

"K-kami," she said in a hushed whisper. Breaking her eyes away from his own amber ones, she choked back a sob. Before Nagihiko's eyes, Rima crumbled to the floor, head in her hands.

"Rima-chan, what's wrong?" he asked, genuine worry on his face. He stood up and crouched next to the sobbing girl all while wincing in pain.

"Onegai," she sobbed. Placing a light hand on her shoulder, the warrior slapped it away.

"Stop… please stop," she begged. Nagihiko's brow scrunched in confusion. Stop what?

"What are you saying?"

"Just stop! Stop playing with me!" she screamed, standing up abruptly. "Stop playing with my head, dammit! You can't just kiss me like that! You're a liar, and I hate liars." Her eyes flashed with hurt and anger.

"Please, Rima," he scoffed lightly and stood up. "Tell me you didn't like that."

"I didn't like it," she whispered, staring at the floor. Her bangs covered her eyes as fresh tears fell. As of right now, Nagihiko was sort of glad she had thick, long hair to hide her face like a curtain. He hated to see her cry.

"Say that to me. Look me in the eye and say that to me." Her head snapped up, and her eyes met with hard, amber ones.

"I…" she stammered, unable to say anything.

"You felt that, didn't you?" he demanded. Rima gaped at him. She had never seen Nagihiko this serious before.

"You felt those stupid fireworks. Look me in the eye and tell me that the kiss didn't feel right." He took a step closer and she took a step back, ready to dash out the door. He grabbed her by her shoulders before she could bother escaping, and she let out a surprised gasp.

No one said anything for a minute or two. They just stared at each other. Nagihiko studied Rima carefully. It had been so long since he had the chance to actually look at her. He cupped a hand on her cheek gently, and she flinched slightly. His thumb brushed against her high cheekbone. When his finger ran across her bruised lips, she let out a small, meek whimper and slid her eyes closed. Her lips quivered and her brows furrowed, like she was having a bad memory.

"If you don't want me to kiss you," Nagihiko whispered, angling his face down to match Rima's, "then tell me to stop. Just say the word, and I'll stop." He watched her carefully as his lips grew just three centimeters away from hers. He felt her swallow thickly, but no words came out. Eyes remained closed, but lips parted slightly. The thief planted his lips at the corner of her mouth, and he physically felt her breath pitch. He waited for a different reaction, but nothing happened, so Nagihiko moved and swept her mouth against his into a full kiss. He felt her kiss back meekly.

"D-don't," she choked out when Nagihiko pulled back for air and leaned back in for seconds. He laughed lightly, his warm breath hitting her skin and sending shivers down her spine.

"That's cheating, Rima-chan. I won't stop because you said it after I already kissed you." Despite her small cry to stop him, she grabbed onto his arms tightly, like she didn't want him to disappear from her grasp.

"N-no. Don't stop. Don't let go," she whimpered, tears falling freely down her cheeks. A sob racked her body as she buried her face into the taller boy's chest. Nagihiko's eyes widened at her sudden embrace. He looked down and smiled sadly. With one hand at the small of her back, he pressed her to him while his other hand stroked the top of her head comfortingly.

"Even if you hate liars?" he asked teasingly, although his voice broke. He continued to comb his fingers through her messy curls over and over again in hopes of soothing his lover. He felt her nod against his chest, and instantly, he felt his heartstrings tug.

"I didn't mean to be a liar, you know," he mumbled. "Nor did I mean to hurt you physically and mentally. T-the only reason why I pretended to be Nadeshiko was because I heard you say to someone that you hated boys. But I knew that I was in love with you the second I laid my eyes on you, and I had to get to know you. Baka mitai…" Nagihiko shook his head, a grim smile on his face.

"Hotoni anata wa baka desu yo," Rima mumbled, peeking up at him. A small muffled giggle leaked from her lips. The pair finally broke apart, but Rima held onto Nagihiko's hand tightly. "I forgive you, Nagihiko."

Nagihiko's eyes widened. "You do? But Rima-chan hates liars with a burning passion," he tried to explain. Somehow, he couldn't find it within himself to let go of the past. It seemed as if he didn't deserve her forgiveness.

"Un. I do hate liars. But I realize now that you and Nadeshiko are one in the same. You two are the same person deep within even if your outside appearance says so otherwise. It's true that I love Nadeshiko, but I love Nagihiko more." Rima gave the boy a teary smile. Her cheeks flushed with happiness the more she expressed her love for the Fujisaki.

Watching Rima smile and genuinely forgive him made Nagihiko smile as well.

'_Perhaps as we spend more time with each other, it is then that I can truly forgive myself for putting you through all the pain and misfortune I caused you. Arigatou, Rima-chan!' _

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><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Konnichiwa - Hello**

**Ohayou Gozaimasu - Good morning**

**Urusai - Shut up**

**Onegai - Please**

**Baka mitai - What a fool/something along those lines LOL**

**Hotoni anata wa baka desu yo - Honestly, you are a fool (UM THIS MIGHT BE WRONG BUT YAH)**

**{_Edit 08.26.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	13. Mission: Hoshina Scroll Pursuit

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!****  
><strong>

**Chapter 12: Mission: Hoshina Scroll Pursuit****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 09.02.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"SHE SAID WHAT!" Utau screamed and flung the vase on her table across the room. The blue ceramic vase shattered to pieces as soon as it made contact with the wall. Water seeped into the carpet while the lone sunflower laid wilted and neglected. Yaya glanced at Utau nervously. It had been a while since she had seen her superior this angry.<p>

"M-maa... That's what El told me, and I thought you should hear about this."

"Piece of crap… Good for nothing," Utau mumbled incoherently. She shuffled through the stacks of papers on her messy desk and scattered some onto the floor. "Bring El her. I'm going to have a talk with her." Yaya quirked an eyebrow, but nodded and hastily fled the room.

Running out of Utau's office, Yaya practically flew down two flight of stairs and banged on room 105. After another few impatient knocks, the door opened to reveal a purple-haired girl.

"Nani?" she slurred, ruby eyes glazed. The vamp stumbled a bit and decided to lean against the door frame to steady herself. She blinked a couple times, probably to clear her vision of the three Yayas she was currently seeing.

"What the hell? Are you drinking?" Yaya asked, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"What does it matter? I didn't ask to become one of you." The purple-haired vamp blinked her half-lidded eyes and shrugged.

For vampires, drinking alcohol was like drinking poison for humans. It was basically suicide for vampires to be downing alcohol like it was blood. Yaya had heard many stories about how addicting alcohol can be. Just one sip can get you hooked. She also remembered someone telling her that some of the world's greatest vampires died not by fighting, but by alcohol addiction.

Yaya sighed and shoved her way inside. The younger girl was immediately met with a strong wave of odor. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and held her breath. _'Damn vampires and their overly sensitive smell,' _she thought.

"Look. Utau wants to see you. It might possibly have something to do with your previous mission." Yaya smirked as she watched El freeze in mid-drink.

"You told her," El gripped the bottle tightly in her hands. It was a wonder how the glass bottle had not shattered yet.

"Tch. No one had to tell me anything. I just simply overheard you and Il arguing about it," Yaya said monotonously and leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms and stared at El with a blank look. El shook her head angrily, her purple bob cut swishing in sync.

"You eavesdropping bloodsucking leech!" El screamed and slammed the bottle against a table. It broke it half, and the remaining liquid spilled everywhere. Yaya almost gagged at the strong smell that filled the air.

"How much did you hear?" El took a step forward, her body height towering over Yaya. Yaya didn't flinch at all from the closeness. She studied the drunk vamp carefully; El seemed to be hiding something else, judging by the way her eyes kept flittering and looking anywhere but at Yaya. It also didn't help that beads of nervous sweat dripped down the taller vamp.

"Just enough," Yaya mumbled. _'What does she mean by how much I heard?'_ Yaya thought as El backed away, scowling.

"When I'm done meeting with Utau, I'm coming after you." As El pushed Yaya out of her room and climbed the two flights of stairs, Yaya let out a shaky breath.

"Is she freaking crazy or what? She's not gonna make it out of Utau's office alive."

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><p>"The mission you were summoned on was to retrieve a sacred scroll of the Hoshina Clan. All you had to do was travel out of town and talk to the clan leader of the Nagareboshi Clan. And when you talk to him, they'll give you the sacred scroll. Your objective was to bring me back the scroll. That's what you're getting paid for." Utau slammed her hands on top of her table, almost splintering it in half. Sitting across from her, El flinched visibly at the Vampire Princess' herculean strength as she witnessed the crack snaking across the wooden table.<p>

"Where is the damn scroll, you little pest." Utau glowered at El, who didn't seem to want to speak. "I repeat," she hissed, "where is the damn scroll?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I already reported to you about the mission failure. Il and I were jumped by other vampires and we had to abort the mission."

"Uso!" Utau grew furious and jumped on top of the desk. "The scroll holds sacred information. If you opened it, I have no choice but to kill you." Utau grabbed El by the collar of her shirt and slammed her all the way across the room. Walking over to El who was groaning in pain, Utau picked her up by her neck and slammed her against the wall. El gasped for breath and struggled to break free.

"But, it's not like I'm not going to kill you for faking a failed mission," Utau suddenly says with a sickening smile plastered on her face. "And blaming your own comrade – not to mention your own twin sister – just pisses me off. In order to survive the vampire world, we must trust our comrades. That is why I put everyone in a four-man squad. Missions can't be completed without teamwork."

El snarled at Utau, baring her fangs. "Even if you intend to kill me, it doesn't matter. I do not possess the scroll anymore. Neither does Il or any other of our teammates."

"Where is the scroll now, then?" Utau asked, tightening her grip around El's neck. A bitter smirk spread on the purple-haired vampire's face before she replied in choked gasps.

"Listen carefully and listen well, Utau, for I will only say this once. Because once this leaves my mouth, I hope to the dear heavens that you will show me mercy and dispose of me yourself."

Utau furrowed her brows and loosened her grip slightly to let her vamp continue her speech.

"On our way back, my team and I were ambushed. However, the vamps that ambushed us are none that we have seen or have prepared for before. They are exceptionally skilled, with eyes filled with bloodlust. They are not ordinary vampires. They have faster reflexes than newborns and full-fledged vamps. Their skills rival yours and Tsukiyomi Ikuto's."

"Get to the point," Utau grumbled, her spine stiff as she listened to each word carefully. Vampires strong enough to challenge both Ikuto and Utau? Who were these vamps that El was talking about?

"They did not want to let us pass peacefully, so we had no choice but to engage. They… they killed everyone but me. They let me live so I would be their little experiment. Utau… please, you need to dispose of me. I do not wish to be their spy," El begged, her ruby eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Why didn't you report this to me?" Utau asked breathily, her grip slacking. "The scroll! Don't tell me they have it!" Utau squeezed her eyes shut and let go of the vamp completely, clutching her head in despair.

"They do. And if you wish to retrieve it, you may very well need Tsukiyomi Ikuto's help to get it back. Sumimasen, Utau-sama." El bowed her head in shame.

"I…" Utau trailed off, not knowing what to think or say. Finally after a pregnant pause, Utau eyed El sadly. El eyed her back, her face filled with regret, despair, desperation, angst from losing her team as well as her sister. "El, thank you. For your bravery, your honor. For staying loyal to the Hoshina Clan for as long as you can."

Utau squeezed her eyes shut, eyebrows furrowing as she summoned her prized trident in her hand. She looked at El one last time. Tears streamed down the vamps face, but she gave a firm nod to let the Vampire Princess proceed.

"Sayonara.."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're fine?" Rima asked her best friend. The pinkette waved her hand in a carefree manner.<p>

"I told you Rima; I'm perfectly fine. I was just shocked, that's all. I'm fine now." Amu smiled and tried to give Rima a smile. It came out weaker than she intended it to be. Rima rolled her eyes, not believing a single thing Amu had said, but she let it slip.

"Okay, whatever."

"So tell me. What's this I hear about you and Nagihiko making out in his hospital room?" Amu stifled a laugh as she watched Rima choke on her spit.

"Where did you hear that from?" the blonde demanded.

"Oh, I don't know. I have my resources." Amu laughed and punched Rima on the arm playfully. "I think it's great that the two of you worked things out."

Rima nodded slowly and readjusted the sword on her waist. The two had left the Tsukiyomi compound and were walking back to the Hoshina grounds. Kukai seemed a little sad to see the two of them leave.

_"But Kukai, we aren't even friends," Rima had deadpanned._

_"Says who, Mashiro?" Kukai had countered. Rima snorted and slapped him on his back with her herculean strength. He let out a surprised yelp and fell to his knees._

_"Damn Utau and training Mashiro and her stupid strength," Kukai had angrily mumbled while rubbing his sore back._

_"We're sorry Ikuto couldn't see you off. He was busy," Nagihiko had said. Apparently, the two had made up and were friends again. They decided to never speak of the fight again._

_"Well, just tell him we're leaving. And to thank him for his hospitality," Amu said while waving goodbye._

Amu sighed and blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I promised Tomoya and Mizuki we would train them. But considering we were gone longer than expected, they're probably furious."

"Who cares, they're just a bunch of brats. They can wait." Rima said without a care. Amu snorted.

"I can't wait to see the apartment bill once I get back."

"What do you mean?" Rima asked, kicking a rock.

"Think about it. Yaya's watching them – which was a stupid idea – and knowing Yaya, she probably spoiled them." Rima blinked and then nodded.

"Good point."

"Let's stop at the store. I should probably get the kids lunch."

"Tch. Sure."

* * *

><p>"Oi, teme. I need answers," Ikuto growled darkly. The vamp's bloodshot red eyes stared into Ikuto's indigo eyes. He spat out blood, grimacing at the sour taste; vampires' own blood tasted nothing like the sweet, rich blood humans had.<p>

"I'm not saying anything, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." Ikuto let out a dry laugh as he heard the vamp's weak protest. Ikuto eyed the disheveled vamp carefully. When making his daily rounds of scouting the compound, one of Ikuto's vamps had found him hiding in the thickets of the trees. From there, a battle ensued until back up arrived and managed to capture the suspicious vamp. Ikuto was now currently interrogating him, but his stubbornness didn't allow the interrogation to go any further ahead. Ikuto almost laughed as the vamp's stubbornness reminded him of his own sister. There was a pained cough as the vamp was kicked in the stomach by the steel bottom of Ikuto's shoe.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, so you better spit it out," Ikuto threatened dangerously, "why were you hiding in my grounds. What are your motives, and who sent you?"

"With all that barking you do, you should be known as the annoying Dog Vamp instead of the stealthy Cat Vamp everyone calls you." The vamp grinned wolfishly, his sharp fangs peeking out from his lips as he watched Ikuto twitch in annoyance.

_'Tch, damn. I guess I have no choice but to use it.'_

Ikuto closed his eyes and reopened then to reveal his all-seeing evil eye. But instead of the usual shade of obsidian, there was also a pattern in his pupils; there were ripples that seemed to take the shape of the many petals of roses.

The vamp tensed when he realized what was going to happen. There was no possible way to escape this with the energy sucking collar Ikuto had strapped on him to prevent him from fighting back. The vamp felt hypnotized his mouth slacking as eyes locked onto each other.

"_Eye of the Eagle Stage Two: Illusion's Past_**(1)**." The vamp's eyes glazed as he stupidly stared into Ikuto's captivating eyes. The silver-haired vamp fell to the floor into a messy clump, and Ikuto bowed his head as his eyes slowly closed. He too, slid down into the chair he had prepped when he brought in the vamp for interrogating.

After what seemed like eternity to the both of them, Ikuto was forced to dispel his illusion. He let out a pained grunt and grasped his eyes in pain. His eyes throbbed no matter how hard he willed them to stop. He let out heavy pants and tried to catch his breath. He used his free hand to grasp the back of the chair to support himself from toppling over. In front of him, the vamp had been knocked out cold. Ikuto opened a bloodshot eye as he glowered at his unconscious form. The vamp had been strong-willed; it was clear that whoever had trained him had trained his mentality well.

"Enough, Ikuto-kun. You've been using it for six hours. If you haven't stopped because you lacked energy, you could've lost your eyesight forever." A hand was placed on Ikuto's shoulder as he continued to gasp deeply for oxygen.

"I wasn't able to get through..." Ikuto cursed silently. The person behind him shook her head, her choppy layers swishing in sync.

"Iie. You tried your best. You need to rest," she says gently and helps him stand up. Ikuto's blurry vision focuses on the girl in front of him. Shiny canary yellow hair that curled around her face frame. Slim and petite body frame, but curvy enough to seduce. Skin as milky-smooth as marble. Her mint green eyes were lined with kohl that made her already beautiful eyes pop out more. To put it simply, the girl standing in front of him was the real definition of a goddess.

"When did you come back?" Ikuto mutters as he staggers a bit. His neck grows warm when the girl let out an airy laugh at his stumble. So much for his Tsukiyomi pride. The blonde grabbed his arm and steadied him, before replying.

"Got back a little less than fifteen minutes ago. Miss me?" Her voice calm, but teasing. Ikuto felt at ease at just the sound of her voice.

"You were gone for a month. I thought you left me for good. Where are we going?" Ikuto asks breathily. He had shut his eyes earlier so the throbbing would stop. Unfortunately, the throb was still there, but closing his eyes would help him regain his eyesight sooner.

"Well, I told you not to worry too much about me. And who said I would leave you, silly boy. I just had some things I wanted to handle on my own. But I'm back, and right now you need to get back to your room. Ikuto-kun, you really need to rest. If you don't, you'll go blind." Worry laced in her voice as she helped him up the stairs slowly, one by one.

"Tch. Ai, take me to my office. I have some things to finish up." The said girl shook her head, feeling the way her hair swished, the ends of the strands tickling her chin.

"Gomen, Ikuto, but you really need to rest. I don't think you want to be blind, do you?" Ai let a small smile grace her features as she took notice of Ikuto's slight scowl. "A blind heir can't possibly rule the Tsukiyomi Clan now, can he?" she teases and opens the door to Ikuto's room.

"Urusai." There was a melodious laugh before Ikuto was shoved onto his soft mattress quite forcibly. He snapped open his eyes to glower at the young beauty teen in front of him, before regretting it. The room was spinning now.

"Oh shut up, Ikuto-kun. You don't mean it. I'm just doing this for your own good, because that's what best friends do right? They help each other out." There was a smirk on Ai's flawless face as Ikuto just scoffed and said nothing else. Before he retort back, Ai pulled a roll of bandage from her medic pouch and began wrapping it around his eyes. He flopped down on his bed and turned over onto his stomach after she finished tying it at the back of his head.

"You're annoying," he mumbled, although his voice was muffled.

"Hai, hai! Tell me something I _don't_ know," Ai retorted almost sarcastically and skipped over to his working table. She pulled out the chair and sat down, before going through the desk drawers to find some blank paper. "Now rest up, dear Ikuto-kun."

"Do you really have to watch over me?" Ikuto grumbled like a little child when he realized that his companion was still in his room.

"Well we don't want you ignoring doctor's orders now, do we?" Ai asked, and Ikuto could picture the teasing smile she was currently wearing.

"Hn. Ai," he mumbled, his mind growing fuzzy, "Okaeri."

Ai smiled softly at the now vulnerable boy lying on the bed. "Aa. Tadaima, Ikuto-kun."

After a few minutes had passed and Ai was absolutely sure Ikuto had slipped into slumber from lack of energy, she looked up from her origami rose and locked her mint green eyes on Ikuto's peaceful face. Her lips curled into a small frown, and she turned away from Ikuto to face the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest and placed her chin on top of her knees deep in thought.

"Tadaima, ne?" she whispered to herself. She let out a troubled sigh and stared at the dainty, paper rose in her hand. Her eyes narrowed dangerously before the rose was crushed in her palm within a matter of two seconds. The crumbled rose slipped out of her hand as she stood up abruptly and exited the room.

* * *

><p>Ikuto's eyes fluttered open to blackness as he was awakened by a knock on his door. He sat up drowsily and tried his best to smooth down his hair before ripping the itchy gauze off his eyes. Ikuto was pleased to realize that his eyesight was much clearer than before.<p>

"What?" Ikuto called out as soon as Kukai entered the door without permission.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Kukai drawled sarcastically. Ikuto rolled his eyes and ignored him, standing up to stretch. "I heard Ai's finally home."

"Aa," Ikuto muttered as he rubbed his eye.

"She's been gone for a while now. I thought for sure that you scared her off for real this time." Kukai chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyways, Utau is in your office waiting for you. She said it was urgent and almost broke my leg when I tried talking to her."

Ikuto snorted. "You have to admit that you saw that coming. You were flirting with my sister, who is a hot-tempered woman."

"I wasn't flirting!" Ikuto ignored Kukai's protest as he shut the door behind him. He walked down several hallways and passed through the unused kitchen before finally making it to his office. Throughout the walk, he found himself unconsciously looking for Ai, but she was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged it off, thinking she was probably resting in her room. Opening the door and closing it behind him, he braced himself from the sudden hug attacks Utau always gave him even if they were sworn enemies. There was no hug this time, which meant Utau was either angry or serious.

"Kukai told me you almost broke his leg," Ikuto started, but was interrupted by a slamming of her palm on Ikuto's desk.

"Shut up, Ikuto. I'll make this quick as to why I'm here. I can't lose precious time as of right now." Ikuto quirked an eyebrow at his sister's demand, but nodded and sat down in front of his angry sister. Utau didn't waste any time as she blurted out something Ikuto thought he'd never hear ever again.

"I need your help." Ikuto nearly choked on his spit as he heard the words fly out of his sister's mouth.

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he asks, "Why?"

"I sent one of my teams on a mission to retrieve a sacred scroll that belongs to the Hoshina Clan. My team was ambushed upon returning by suspicious vamps. They killed my team and left one alive to use her as a spy, but she told me everything and made me…" Utau shook her head, trailing off. "Something's not right, Ikuto. There are rouge vamps everywhere now. This might have something to do with the war that's looming ahead."

Ikuto kept quiet, his brain spinning with suspicions and information. It was true that recently there had been a number of rouge vamps showing their faces, and Ikuto had just tried to interrogate one earlier, but this wasn't his problem. He was not a part of the Hoshina Clan, so this did not have anything to do with him. All Ikuto had to do was train his vamps and prepare them for the upcoming war that threatened them; he shouldn't be involved with this mess Utau was in.

Almost as if sensing her brother's decline, Utau dropped to her knees, surprising Ikuto. Here was his prideful sister, on her knees, begging him to help her. "Ikuto! You _have _to help me. I can't freaking lose that scroll! It contains family secrets! Please, I'm begging you. I'm… I'm scared," she finally whispered, her lips quivering and eyebrows furrowing in fear. "I don't know what to do. I might be a clan leader, but I'm still young. I barely turned fifteen and barely received my full powers. Please, you're my aniki, so please tell me what to do," Utau begged, tears finally making their way down her cheeks.

"Don't beg, Utau," Ikuto sighed and stood up. He walked over to his sister and picked her up, hesitatingly wrapping her into a comforting hug. He could feel her shake in his hands as she tried to stop the tears. Ikuto knew that his sister was carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders. She had barely turned into a full-fledged vamp a month ago and was already running a clan. She had been through a lot, and he knew she had to be strong if she wanted to prove she was capable of being a Vampire Princess.

"I'll help you," he said quietly. "I'll send Fujisaki and Souma along with myself to find the scroll. This mission needs to be kept quiet, do you understand? I don't want anyone to find out the Hoshina Clan scroll is in danger because this can cause chaos between your clan and everyone else's; everyone would kill for a clan's sacred scroll, so this mission must only be discussed with those we trust. Do you understand?"

Utau nodded, wiping her eyes dry. "I can offer you Amu and Rima. They're my most trustworthy vamps, and it would be good to have a variety of skills within the team."

Ikuto nodded. _'Smart thinking. It would be good to have a warrior and bowmaster instead of all thieves in a team.'_

"I won't be able to join you guys on the mission though. They need me at the hospital," Utau explained, slightly regretful.

"It's fine. Do what you have to do."

Utau gave Ikuto one last grateful smile. Before she vanished in a swirl of rose petals, he heard Ikuto call out to her.

"I'll do everything I can to protect those who I love. So don't worry, Utau. I'm here for you."

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Maa - Well...**

**Nagareboshi- Shooting star**

**Uso - Liar**

**Sumimasen - I'm sorry (formal)**

**Sayonara - Goodbye/Since it must be so (in a way where they cannot avoid parting for now)[in this case, Utau is literally saying goodbye forever to El]**

**Teme - Bastard**

**Urusai - Shut up**

**Okaeri - Welcome home**

**Tadaima - I'm back**

**Aniki - Older brother**

**(1)Eye of the Eagle Stage Two: Illusion's Past- Stage two of the jobline limit Eye of the Eagle. The wielder's eyes become more detailed with patterns of rose petals outlining the entire eye. This technique allows the wielder to cast an illusion inside the opponent's mind and access their memories. If the opponent is strong-willed, then it can be possible that this illusion be dispelled, although rarely this happens.**

**Q: How old are each of the characters? () = human years, [] = vamp months**

**A: Amu (14)[3], Rima (14)[7], Yaya (12)[6], Utau (15)[15] she just turned and got her full powers, Ikuto (17)[17], Kukai (16)[16], Nagihiko (14)[14]**

****{_Edit 09.02.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	14. Ittekimasu! Itterasshai!

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!****  
><strong>

**Chapter 13: Ittekimasu! Itterasshai! (I'm leaving! Have a safe journey!)****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 09.02.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>Amu's breath hitched in her throat, and she was immediately forced to duck. If it weren't for her well-trained instincts, she would've received a painful blow to her head.<p>

"Woah! Matte kudasai! What is going on?" Amu asked. In front of her, Tomoya stood with a wicked grin on his face.

"Hehehe. How was that, Amu nee-chan? How was my punch?" Oh. So _that's _what that was about.

"Honestly, pretty good. But yet, pretty bad at the same time." Amu closed the door behind her and set the takeout on the kitchen island. Thankfully, the apartment wasn't nearly as bad as Amu had imagined it to be. Sure, there were empty ramen cups, water bottles, and a few toys Yaya had bought them scattered everywhere, but at least all the walls were still intact and furniture wasn't turned upside down.

"Haah? What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoya demanded. He pouted, but quickly ran over to Amu as she untied the takeout bags and boxes. "Sugoi! It smells delicious!" Amu could almost laugh at Tomoya. She supposed it was natural for him to have a short attention span since he was only a little kid.

"It's salmon and onigri with miso soup. I also got curry if you two don't eat the fish. Go get your sister and you can eat." Tomoya quickly darted into the room the two siblings shared.

Halfway through lunch, someone knocked on the door. Yaya. Amu could feel the younger girl's presence. The roseate got up to open the door. But before the door was even halfway open, Yaya came catapulting in.

"Yaya nee-chan!" Mizuki grinned and ran to attack the vamp into a tight hug.

"Osu, gaki! I bet you already miss my cooking." Yaya grinned and waggled her eyebrows comically when Amu shot her a look.

"Please tell me you didn't just give them candy," Amu almost pleaded. Rolling her eyes, Yaya pouted.

"You're no fun, Amu-chi! Besides, it wasn't just candy and sweets all the time. You would've killed me if it was." Yaya made a wise choice to mutter the last part.

"Ne, Amu nee-chan! When are you going to train us? You promised!"  
>Tomoya demanded with his mouth full of rice.<p>

"Tomoya, don't talk with your mouth full; it's rude," Amu scolded. He swallowed and repeated his question. "We can start after the both of you finish eating." The two siblings flashed each other an excited grin and began to scarf down the rest of the food.

"Um, Amu-chi. Can I talk to you for a second?" Casting Yaya a curious look, the roseate nodded and pulled the girl into an empty bedroom.

"What's wrong?" Amu asked. Yaya fingered her caramel pigtails before answering her friend.

"Utau-tan told me to tell you that you and Rima-tan are going on a mission." Amu froze.

"When?" the roseate demanded. For the love of Kami-sama, she had promised she would train the little kids! Every single time they had asked, something had come up. She can't break her promise again!

"Tonight." Yaya grimaced as she watched the older vamp's mood deflate.

"Seriously? Tonight?" Amu whined. "It can't be tonight! I have to train the kids! And what made Utau assign us the mission on such short notice. And why us?" Yaya sighed and almost rolled her eyes in irritation. Being short tempered and whining like a baby was _her _job, not anyone else's.

"Look," Yaya sighed, "you'll leave at midnight tonight and it's only one o' clock right now. You only need an hour to prepare for your mission and plan your route out. You'll still have time to train the brats."

"Sure, but they're going to be depressed that I'll be gone for probably one week max."

"No big deal. Let's see how fast they can catch up on bow and arrow basics and even sword basics. Teach them one or two techniques, and then give them one week to perfect them. Make it seem like a challenge. Tell them that if they don't accomplish and perfect the techniques in one week, you won't teach them any other skills until they do master it."

"Wow, Yaya. When did you become so grown up?" The bowmaster almost laughed in astonishment. For once, Yaya had said something that actually sounded mature. Yaya smirked at Amu's surprise.

"Thanks," she drawled. "Now come on. I'll go get Rima-tan to come over so you guys can start your little training crap." Amu nodded happily and skipped back into the kitchen. Tomoya eyed the two curiously while Mizuki kept silent.

"What happened? You two were fighting like an old couple!" Tomoya exclaimed. His statement earned a dainty giggle from his sister.

"Ah, iie! Nandemo nai. Rima and I will be gone for the week, but we'll still be able to train the both of you."

"What do you mean you'll be gone for the week? How do you train us if you're gone?" Tomoya banged his small fists onto the table, causing the utensils to fly in the air before clattering back onto the table. Mizuki sported a slight disappointed look, but said nothing otherwise.

"Rima and I have somewhere to go to. I can't tell you any more about where we're going because it's… a secret. But we're going to start your training after you're finished eating. Rima and I leave tonight at midnight, so we still have a few hours to perfect your basic fighting skills." Taking in a deep breath, Amu asked calmly, "Is that fine with you?"

The two siblings were quiet for a moment. Tomoya seemed to be lost in deep thought while Mizuki stared at the table.

"That's fine," Mizuki said softly. The pretty little girl looked up and smiled contently at Amu while bowing her head politely. "Amu nee-san, thank you so much for teaching us how to defend ourselves. Nii-san and I appreciate it very much." A soft smile graced Amu's face as she nodded in return.

"It's my pleasure. I hate to see the two of you defenseless. So are you two finished eating? Rima will meet us at the usual training ground."

"Aa," Tomoya nodded, slightly ashamed of his actions. Amu's eyebrows knitted together at his sudden depression.

"Don't feel bad, Tomoya. Everyone overreacts once in a while. Yours didn't harm anyone, ne? So no worries!" Amu tried to cheer him up as he swiped at his watery eyes with the heels of his palms.

"Aa!"

"That's the spirit!" Amu giggled and grabbed the leftover food. She placed the boxes into the empty fridge while the siblings cleared the table.

There was a tiny squeak, and Amu quickly flashed over to Mizuki. The roseate managed to grab the plates before they crashed onto the floor, creating a mess. Mizuki's cornflower blue eyes widened while Tomoya stared dumbfounded. It was then that Amu realized she had flashed over in an instant to prevent an incident. The bowmaster cursed herself in the head as she tried to think of an excuse to say.

"S-sugoi! That was incredible, Amu nee-chan!" Tomoya suddenly shouted, a bright grin on his face. "How did you do that? You moved so fast you were like a blur! Will you teach us that? Huh? Huh? Please teach us that!"

"Eh?" Was the only thing that left the startled roseate's mouth as she listened on to Tomoya's rambles. She shakily drew in a breath and rebalanced the stack of plates onto her hand.

"Uh, sure," she mumbled, absentmindedly running a hand through her pink locks. "C'mon, let's get ready. Go put on your shoes." As she watched the two children run to grab their shoes, Amu scolded herself.

"Damn it! What were you thinking?" she hissed to herself before dropping the dishes into the sink. "Oh wait! You weren't thinking at all!" she snapped back to herself sarcastically, shaking her head.

"Great. Now I'm talking to myself," Amu mused with a wry smirk.

"We're ready!" Mizuki's sweet voice called out, catching Amu's attention.

"Hai!" The vamp shouted back as she grabbed her cloak and snapped it on in a flourish. Strapping on her weapons pouch and holster, Amu grabbed her discarded bow on the coffee table and padded over to the already open door.

"Anxious now, are we?" Amu asked with a teasing smile as she lazily fingered on her boots. The roseate watched with an amused grin as Tomoya pouted.

"Amu nee-chan! Yamate! Hayaku, hayaku!" The impatient boy whined while tugging lightly on the hem of her kimono.

"Hai, hai," she drawled and pulled open the door, ushering the two siblings to exit first. Amu puffed up her cheeks as she locked the apartment door slowly, mind still replaying the incident earlier. Amu exhaled and shook her head, making sure her weapons pouch, holster, and bow was hidden underneath her cloak before she jogged to catch up with the children.

As the three neared the training ground, Amu felt a soft smile tug at the corners of her lips. Unclasping her bow from the holster around her hip, Amu watched as the two children laughed and chased one another. She could tell the two were excited, but they couldn't begin the lessons just yet; they still had to wait for Rima to arrive.

"Ne, Amu nee-chan?"

"Nani?" Amu hummed as she pulled her cloak off.

"Do you... Do you believe in vampires?"

Amu's breath hitched in her throat.

"V-vampires?" Amu questioned weakly. Her honey eyes flashed with slight panic as cold sweat dotted her brow.

"Vampires... They kill people and drink blood," Mizuki informed the slightly trembling roseate. Amu gulped and bit her lip, thinking hard. She couldn't get caught! Not by little kids!

"What would you say," Amu began uneasily, "if there were such thing as va-vampires?"

Tomoya and Mizuki paused to think for a bit before Tomoya answered, "I think they're cool. Didn't all villages use to have vampires living in them? I thought that there was a, um..." Tomoya trailed off, his brows scrunched in thought as he tried to remember the correct words to say.

"The Vampire-Human Pact," Mizuki finished for her brother. "It was when vampires worked together with humans to keep the villages safe. No one really knows why the Pact had been broken though."

Amu swallowed thickly. How did two little kids know so much about vampires? Upon reading the slight confusion in Amu's eyes, Tomoya said, "Our family used to be friends with a family of vampires. We shared a compound, actually. They were really nice, and weren't scary either."

"But then something happened, and our village was torn down. Barely anyone survived," Mizuki said in a remorseful mood. Not knowing how to reply, Amu wished for Rima to hurry up and show up so the awkward silence would go away.

Right on cue, there was a soft breeze, and the petite warrior stood leaning nonchalantly against a tree.

"Yo!" Amu called out cheerfully, relieved to see her best friend. Rima smirked and lifted two fingers up in a wave. "Let's get started, ne?" The wheat-haired girl nodded and pushed her weight off the tree trunk, taking confident strides toward Tomoya and Mizuki.

"So who's Shishouam I going to be?" Rima asked and unsheathed her orange sword. Tomoya's hand shot up, a wide grin on his face as if the vampire conversation had never happened. Nodding, Rima rummaged through her satchel and pulled a miniature version of her sword out of the bag, sheath and all included. Placing the small sword into the awaiting hands of her student, Rima explained the basic necessities.

"This," she gestured to the weapon in his hand, "is called a tanto. It is quite similar to a katana, but is a smaller version of it. We'll start off with something small, and as you gradually get better in wielding a sword, we can move it up to using a katana."

Tomoya stared in awe at the tanto in his hands. Using his fingers, he touched the sheath of the sword with great care.

"Mizuki, come. I have something for you." Amu flashed her student a comforting smile as she waved the young girl over to her. Mizuki skipped over to her, her pitch black hair flying over her shoulders.

"Hai, Shishou?" Mizuki cocked her head slightly to the left as she trained her cornflower blue eyes on Amu, who had miraculously pulled a basic wooden bow out of her bag.

"When Rima and I came back in town, I managed to bargain for the bow. Pretty cheap too, but it works perfectly. It's all yours to keep and use!"

"Arigatou, Amu-shishou!" Mizuki beamed happily, gripping the bow tightly in her hands, while Amu sighed discreetly. How on earth was she supposed to teach two little kids abilities when they were just mere humans? Humans!

"I guess I can just teach Mizuki how to use the bow. Basic skills are good enough for defense," Amu murmured to herself. Looking up, Amu couldn't help but smile as she watched Mizuki chatter anxiously with Tomoya, who was ignoring Rima's advice on how to hold the tiny sword. The roseate even let out a small laugh as the blonde scowled at being ignored. "Yes, basic bowman skills will be enough. Besides, Yaya will be teaching the girl basic medic skills in case any of them get hurt." Amu nodded to herself, remembering Yaya had once told her that she would just be teaching Mizuki how to tell the difference between herbs and how to properly handle a broken arm or something.

"Shishou?" Mizuki stuck out her bottom lip in a cute pout, while she tilted her head in a confused manner to stare at the dazed huntress. Snapping out of her thoughts, Amu smiled.

"Let's get started." Her seriousness took over as she snapped her fingers and strode over to her bag in confident steps. Mizuki quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing otherwise as she accepted the container of arrows placed in her hands. "Let's see how far you can shoot an arrow first."

Like any other beginner, Mizuki stared at the bow and arrow in her hand. She clumsily placed the arrow in place as she lifted her bow, using all her strength to pull the string back. The girl honestly didn't think it was that complicated! So why wasn't the string even budging a centimeter?

"Because you're holding it wrong," Amu stated, as if reading her student's mind. Walking behind Mizuki, Amu repositioned the bow in the girl's tiny hand. Using her own strength, Amu kept her hands on top of Mizuki's and pulled the string back without having to strain anything. Her student's eyes widened in surprise at the skinny roseate's strength. "Release," the vampire commanded. A second later, the arrow whizzed through the air flawlessly and landed on a tree trunk with a loud thunk.

"Sugoi!" Mizuki squealed. The anxious girl quickly bent down to pick up another arrow and positioned it correctly this time. Before she could launch the arrow, she felt arms snaking around her waist.***** Startled, Mizuki glanced back.

"It's better to keep the holster somewhere on your body. That way you wouldn't have to waste time standing up and down to get another arrow," Amu stated nonchalantly as she finished strapping the arrows to her waist. "Okay, go."

On the other side of the field, Rima watched with a bored expression as Tomoya continued to punch the tree in front of his over and over again. This was boring, but strengthening yourself was the first thing warriors needed to do. Rima could tell Tomoya was in pain as his fists began to break skin and bleed from hitting the rough surface of the tree over and over again.

"Ten more times – five on each hand – and we'll move on to kicks!" Rima barked out. Tomoya yelled out a confirmative as he continued to punch. After getting slapped in the face by the petite warrior for complaining earlier, Tomoya didn't want to see Rima's true strength.

Rima sighed and leaned against a shady tree, glancing at the sky. It was approximately late five o' clock by now, judging by the sunset and colorful sky. She figured she wouldn't be able to teach much to Tomoya today, seeing as how she and her teammate had to leave soon to get ready for the mission tonight.

"After kicks will be punches and kicks combined. Then after punches and kicks will be the weights on his legs. Perfect. He better be in better condition when I come back from the mission." Rima spoke to herself, planning out the training plans for the day. Opening her eyes, she stood up and brushed off the grass from her butt, ready to bark out another command.

* * *

><p>It was now six-thirty, and the two siblings were collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Tomoya was coated in a thick layer of sweat, ankle weights still attached to him while Mizuki felt as if her arms were about to fall off. Rima had cuffed light weights around Tomoya's ankles and forced him to walk over to her. He had been complaining every tiny step and collapsed even after not walking for one foot. On the other hand, Mizuki's palms were aching from all the string work she had to do. She could feel the tiny cuts adorning the inside of her hands as she held back another whimper.<p>

"You two worked hard today. We're leaving tonight for something, but we'll be back within a week probably. Mizuki, I want you to continue on trying to fire two arrows at once. If you have mastered that, go for three arrows and so on. I expect you to have mastered that when I come back."

"And for you, brat, work on not complaining," Rima commanded at Tomoya who returned a sheepish smile, "Fifty punches left and right then kicks. Then punches and kicks twenty times. After that, you will put on your weights and do kicks for another fifty times. Lastly, you will walk around this whole village twice in those weights."

After seeing the pained expression on the younger boy's face, Rima gave a rare smile and reached out to pat and rub his head affectionately. "I believe in you."

Amu held in a chuckle and nodded encouragingly at Mizuki while reaching into her pocket. Pulling out a small envelope, she handed it to Mizuki. "It's the next month's rent for the apartment, and extra money as well for the both of you to spend. Buy something you like. We'll walk the two of you home and take care of your injuries and get you ready for the remainder of the night."

As everyone collected their belongings and strolled back to the apartment, the quartet engaged in light chatters and giggles. When cuts were smeared with creams and a bucket of warm water for sore muscles were filled, the siblings changed into their pajamas and were set for the night.

"We'll be back soon," Amu promised.

"Aa," Rima agreed as she switched on the TV and changed the channel to cartoons.

"Ittekimasu!"

"Itterasshai!"

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Nandemo nai - Nevermind/It's nothing**

**Sugoi - Amazing**

**Yamatte - Stop it**

**Hayaku - Hurry**

****Shishou**- Master or teacher**

**Tanto- A Japanese short sword or dagger.**

***-tries to pretend really hard that this doesn't sound dirty-**

**Ittekimasu! - I'm leaving! (said when leaving the house)**

**Itterasshai! - Have a safe journey!**

**{_Edit 09.02.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	15. Love Rain

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!****  
><strong>

**Chapter 14: Love Rain****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 09.03.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>"You're holding the map the wrong way, bakayarou!" Rima smacked her forehead in exasperation as she watched Kukai fumble with the map, eventually dropping it onto the floor.<p>

"Note to self: never send Souma on solo missions. He obviously can't read a map," Ikuto drawled monotonously. His left eye twitched in annoyance as he bent down to pick up the now-muddy map.

"Oi! In my defense, you were the one who gave me the map in the first place!" Kukai shouted back while raising his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"Honestly, Kukai? You're never going to survive without a partner," Nagihiko laughed, his purple hair blowing softly in the wind. Amu smirked as she caught Rima staring at his hair in an almost envious way; she knew how much the warrior abhorred her curly hair.

"Here, let me see the map. Maybe I can help," Amu offered and stuck her hand out, waiting for the blue-haired leader of the group to pass her the map. Instead of receiving the item she desired, she received a nasty glare instead.

Flinching, she recoiled her hand hotly. What did she do to make Ikuto hate her? Scoffing, Amu rolled her eyes and leaned back against a nearby tree.

"We're supposed to go east, you idiot." Ikuto sighed and folded up the map, stuffing it into one of the many pockets in his indigo coat.

"Aren't we traveling east now?"

"Kami-sama help us all… We're traveling west," Rima seethed through clenched teeth. She honestly didn't know how much longer she could survive traveling with the brunette. Sure, the thief was a good fighter and strategist when it came to battles, but when it came to direction, he was as clueless as a newborn kitten.

"Oh yeah." Kukai let out a hearty laugh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Well what are we waiting for? We're burning daylight! Ikuzo!" He cheered and jumped onto a tree branch, waiting for the others to follow along.

Amu snorted in pleasure, but followed suit with Rima and Nagihiko trailing after. Ikuto grunted and ran up the side of the tree flawlessly, easily taking the lead. Amu couldn't help but notice the smirk on his face that seemed to scream out how much better he was than everyone else.

As it neared sunset, Amu was pleased with the progress the group was making. They had traveled for four hours straight, taking a short break to replenish their energy. Everyone pulled out their own thermos and poured the diluted water and blood tablets into cups. Everyone but Ikuto openly made a face at the taste. Kukai even went as far as taking three gulps before pouring the rest onto the grassy earth.

Now the group reached their checkpoint; a small village near the woods. They just needed to travel a few more miles before they reached their destination. Utau had told them to check with the Yume Village first, where El was supposed to receive the Hoshina Scroll from the Nagareboshi Clan.

It had already been a day since the mission had first started. Ikuto had tracked down the team just a few hours earlier, and took lead immediately. He didn't explain why he was late (as expected), but did demand a debriefing of what had happened so far for the first half of the trip he wasn't present on. Apparently there was not much except that the team was traveling in opposite directions courtesy of Kukai.

Unfortunately halfway to the village, it began to pour. The clouds had suddenly turned an angry shade of dark gray, a close resemblance of black, and began to rain cats and dogs. The group had gotten drenched, and Amu hated the feeling of the rain beating down on their hooded bodies and the way her sandals squeaked as rain water sloshed onto her feet.

"Fujisaki and Souma, go to the nearest clothing store and purchase new cloaks and some kimonos; it looks like we'll need the cloaks if ours don't dry out by tomorrow. The kimonos will be for our outfits since everyone in the village seems to be wearing them." To prove his point, Ikuto nodded towards one or two civilians who were out buying some grocery. Ikuto couldn't help but notice how stiff and cautious the two civilians were.

"Hai!" Kukai cheered enthusiastically, the gloomy weather not taking a toll on his happy-go-lucky attitude the slightest bit. Rima sulked and grabbed onto Ikuto's arm, slowly tightening her grip around his wrist, causing the Tsukiyomi Prince to clench his teeth to hide the pain.

"I want to be with Nagi," she whispered with a small pout. Ikuto sighed, swiping impatiently at his drenched hair to clear his vision free of wet hair.

"No. You and Amu are going to the Inn to check in and get us a room," he stated, trying hard to ignore the sharp pain around his wrist, knowing full well that it wouldn't strain Rima to just snap his wrist broken. "I'll go and scout the place out. This air seems a little tense," he muttered the last part.

"No," Rima argued firmly, "I'm going with Na-gi-hi-ko." Amu glanced over at the drenched purple-haired thief who was fidgeting nervously. She knew he didn't want the two vampires to fight over him. He was still the same old Nagihiko who wanted peace and only fought when given a reason.

Giving up and not wanting to deal with a broken wrist later, Ikuno grunted. "Fine, whatever," he snapped. "You go with Fujisaki. Souma will scout the place. Amu and I will get us a room."

A satisfied smirk tugged on Rima's lips as she listened to the Tsukiyomi cave in. Releasing her grip, she skipped over to the side of Nagihiko and watched almost gleefully as Ikuto rubbed his wrist discreetly and cursed profanities under his breath.

"Break," Ikuto growled and everyone broke off in pairs except for Kukai, who disappeared in a blur.

"For Kami's sake," Amu heard Ikuto mutter before walking towards the Inn. Amu stared after him for a second before he turned around. Quirking an eyebrow, his tilted head, questioning her and silently asking if she was coming. Biting her lip, she ran after him, rain water sloshing behind her.

"One room, please. Preferably the suite," Ikuto spoke politely. Well, as politely as Ikuto could get. The young woman behind the counter nodded, her eyes perking up at the fact that a breathtaking boy stood behind the counter and at the mention of their most expensive room. There were hardly anyone nowadays that rented out the suite; money was just too tight for everyone.

Amu stood silently besides Ikuto. Her honey eyes discreetly flickered over to Ikuto as she observed him. He obviously looked the same, as vampires did not age as fast. He looked like a drenched rat, but handsome nonetheless. His azure hair had been sprinkled with raindrops where the hood of his cloak hadn't been able to cover. His eyes were still violet, but Amu could see the light red ring surrounding his pupil; Ikuto was getting a little lustful for real blood.

Feeling someone staring at him, Ikuto turned to look down at Amu who was a good two inches shorter. His hard eyes relaxed slightly, but they were still quite menacing.

"What?" he whispered so softly that it sounded like a purr. Amu's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"I-iie! Nandemo nai!" She cracked a forced smile before looking down, suddenly taking an interest in her toes. The roseate could feel the heat flare in her cheeks.

"Ano, sumimasen. The suite is prepared for you and your guest. How many keys would you like?"

"Three sets, please." Ikuto accepted the three keys, ignoring the hungry look the woman flashed him and turned to Amu. "Ikuzo," he commanded lightly and led the way. In front of Amu, a smirk crawled on his striking face as he noticed the light tint of red on the huntress' cheeks.

Stopping abruptly, Amu ran into him. She let out a soft squeak and backed away, rubbing her forehead as Ikuto turned around, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Here." He dangled a spare key in front of her eyes, making her cross-eyed as she stared at the key. "A spare for you and Mashiro. The other will be for Souma and Fujisaki. I get the last one," he explained and unlocked the door to their suite.

"Um, Ikuto, how are we going to pay for all this?" Amu asked as her eyes darted everywhere. The roseate stared in awe at the size of the room.

Once they had entered the door, Amu was met by a small hallway, where two doors to two bathrooms met on each of her side. Walking further in, Amu smiled at the lounge where a giant LCD TV was plastered to the wall. Two white couches sat facing the TV. In the corner of the lounge was a table that could fit six people. A small coffee table was placed in front of the couches, and a beautiful and elegant chandelier hung from the ceiling. Three doors were on the opposite wall of the TV while another door led to a tiny kitchenette.

"Hn. Don't worry about it."

Bouncing down the two small steps that led to the center of the lounge, Amu skipped over to one of the bedroom doors. As she placed a hand on the shiny doorknob, a larger hand covered her own. She stifled a gasp and whirled around, her own hair whipping her across her face.

"That's the master bedroom," Ikuto implied. After watching her raise her eyebrows in a confused yet cute manner, he almost rolled her eyes at her obliviousness. "Master bedroom is mine. You share with Mashiro." Removing his hand, he stalked off to the restroom.

Amu opened her mouth, but no words came out. She eyed her hand, taking immediate notice of how warm it felt. Warm? Vampires weren't supposed to be warm. They were _dead_. Knitting her eyebrows, she gulped and shook off the feeling.

An hour later, Amu watched Ikuto slink out of the master bedroom. Feeling her eyes on him, Ikuto turned around to face her.

"I'm going to find Souma. It's been too long since he last checked in with me. Stay here and wait for the Shrimp and Purplehead." Nodding, Amu's eyes trailed after Ikuto and ended at the slammed door. She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest, laying her chin on top of her knees. She watched the TV idly, bored out of her mind.

"Speaking of Rima and Nagihiko, where were they? It's been an hour already," Amu murmured to no one in particular. An image suddenly played in her mind. Snorting, Amu smirked bitterly. "She wouldn't dare." Shaking her head, Amu sighed.

"I suppose I can take a shower before the bathrooms get crowded," Amu murmured to herself and walked to her shared bedroom. She rummaged through her knapsack and pulled out an old T-shirt and pajama shorts.

The roseate padded quietly into one of the restrooms, marveling at the size. There was a tub the size of a Jacuzzi in the center of the bathroom and a shower in the left corner. Even the toilet seemed to sparkle happily. Amu whistled in awe before closing the door. As the hunter vamp stripped off her clothes and tied up her cotton candy hair into a messy bun, she pondered whether to take a shower or take a dip in the tub.

"The tub." She smiled happily and watched as the bathtub filled with steaming hot water. As she waited for the tub to fill, she rummaged through the cabinets underneath the sink. She found complimentary mud masks she decided to save for later and bath bombs. She slipped one into the tub and watched the bomb slowly dissolve, staining the water into a foggy, crème mess. As she slipped into the water, she let out a satisfied whimper when the hot water scalded her cold skin. Outside, Amu could still hear the pitter patters of the rain; it didn't seem like the rain would let up soon.

As Amu closed her eyes, she began to relax. The hot water soothed her aching muscles, and the vanilla scented bath bomb filled the room with a soothing warm smell. It had been a while since she actually had time to relax, Amu realized. It was actually kind of ironic though. Instead of working her butt off in a mission, here she was, taking a nice bath.

But before Amu could sink lower into the warm water, the bathroom door suddenly burst open. She snapped her honey eyes open and stared at the shocked male in her bathroom.

There was a flash of surprise in Kukai's lively green eyes as soon as he pushed open the bathroom door, but he quickly masked his surprise with a smirk and an arched eyebrow. The roseate in the tub squeaked and sputtered, sinking lower into the tub so that only her nose, eyes, and forehead poked through the foggy waters.

"Wha-what are you doing!" She shrieked. Kukai just continued to smirk in response.

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing a naked woman in the bath, but I would've much rather preferred Hoshina."

"What the fuck!" Amu screeched and reached an arm out to grab a towel lying next to the tub. She skillfully flashed out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her wet body before Kukai could see anything (Amu would make sure to thank her lucky stars tonight for having vampire powers). She glowered dangerously at the thief, raising her fist and cracking her knuckles the same way she had seen Utau done countless times when angered, ready to punch Kukai senseless.

"Souma!" A bark interrupted before Amu could take a step forward. Ikuto was next to the startled brunette in a few seconds, ready to take control. He had a death glare in his eyes, and he seemed to be either shaking from anger or shaking from the cold rainwater dripping off of him. "Get out!" He barked and grabbed Kukai by the collar. The brunette was dragged out of the room with a few strangled protests of not being able to breathe.

Amu stared after the slammed door, her left clenched fist white from grasping onto her towel around her body tightly. There were shouts from the other side, one from Kukai and the other from Ikuto. There was a loud smack, and Amu heard a snicker that sounded suspiciously from Rima. Her breath hitched in her throat as laughter from the other side died down, and a sudden knock echoed on her side of the room. Gulping, Amu tightened her grasp on the towel before murmuring a 'come in.'

The door opened, and Ikuto quickly shut the door behind him. Looking through his long bangs, he gave her a look that seemed to ask if she was stupid. Well, Amu was right; he did ask if she was stupid.

"Are you stupid or what?"

"E-eh?" she squeaked back.

"Are you stupid?" he repeated slowly, as if he was talking to a five-year-old. "Why didn't you lock the door?"

"I didn't know you guys were coming back so soon!" she argued back feverishly. Oh, so now it was _her_ fault? Puhlease.

"You're supposed to lock bathroom doors when you're using them, stu-pid," he drawled out in a bored tone. It was almost as if he was teasing her. There was a satisfied smirk on his face when Amu bit back her tongue to keep herself from arguing back. He knew she didn't have anything else to say back, because he was right. "Don't be so reckless next time."

And that was when Amu watched with wide eyes as he reached over to pat her head affectionately like she was some dog. Tsukiyomi Ikuto was being… nice? The soft smile on his face made her face flush bright red, and the way he was ruffling her wet hair sent shock coursing through her body.

After a few seconds of silence, Ikuto suddenly withdrew his hand and took a step back. His sudden movements caused Amu to jump and peer at him cautiously. Ikuto stared at his hand in a daze, and then back at Amu.

"Che," he glared at the floor and hastily exited the restroom leaving a confused Amu behind.

* * *

><p>"Wait so he petted you?" Rima snorted and continued to channel surf the TV, looking for a cartoon to watch. "What are you? A cat?" It was currently nine at night, and the girls were in their room. Outside in the lounge, Ikuto, Kukai, and Nagihiko were having a meeting regarding about what Kukai had seen when he was out scouting around the village.<p>

"I don't know!" Amu groaned and muffled her face into her pillow, drowning out the loud TV and the murmurs of the boys outside. "I don't know what happened! He was so…. I don't know," she finally sighed and lifted her head. She gave Rima a sad, confused look. Rima puffed up her cheeks and rolled her eyes, getting up from her bed and padding over to Amu's respective bed.

"Look, tell me what you saw. Maybe I can help."

"Well, when he…patted me… he had this smile on his face. And it wasn't his regular smirks. It was like he actually liked me and cared for me. Kind of like how you would for a cat or pet. But then earlier when we were in the woods, he seemed to hate me. And now, I'm getting mixed signals."

Rima didn't say anything as she continued to think. "Maybe he's guilty?"

"For what?" Amu snorted. Ikuto? Guilty? As if. Ikuto and guilty just did not match well together.

"For acting like a stupid-head to you in the woods?"

"Stupid-head? What are you, five?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Some help," Amu murmured. Before Rima could punch the living daylights out of Amu for her choice of words, the door opened to reveal Nagihiko. Rima immediately perked up and threw herself against the purple-haired thief. Nagihiko let out a soft chuckled and wrapped his arm around Rima's waist in a sort of side hug.

"Ikuto says you guys can come out now. He wants to discuss our plans for tomorrow." Amu nodded and followed the two out, walking towards the table where a map of the country and a few scrolls laid. Kukai and Ikuto were already seated, each with a somber expression on. Amu knew it must be serious, since Kukai almost always had a smile on his face.

"When I was scouting the place earlier, Ikuto was right; the air was tense around the village. Not many people were out, and it was still daylight. I dunno if the fear has to do with vampires or not because the Yume Village used to be well-known for housing a lot of vampire clans back then." Amu nodded silently, drinking in all of the information Kukai had just supplied.

"When Kukai and I returned back at the Inn, the innkeeper warned us that we shouldn't be walking around carelessly. I managed to get some information about the town from the innkeeper, and she mentioned that bandits were always prowling around the village and terrorizing the civilians. She said that everyone was getting robbed, and some even killed."

"So what are you trying to say?" Rima asked impatiently. Amu agreed with her friend secretly. She just wanted Ikuto to get to the point.

"Utau said one of her vampires admitted that her team was ambushed and she was kept alive to spy on the Hoshina Clan and report back to her leader. What I'm trying to say is that the bandits around this village aren't just regular bandits. They're vampires, and I have a feeling that these vamps will lead us to where the scroll is hiding."

"So you want us to set out as soon as possible and end this mission already?" Rima asked impatiently. Ikuto smirked and nodded.

"Impatient as always, eh Mashiro? But you pretty much got everything correct. We will spend one day tomorrow talking to villagers and trying to get the inside scoop of what is going on. We will be going in pairs and we will meet up at noon back at the Inn. Got it?" There was a chorus of yeses, and Ikuto finally allowed everyone to do whatever they wanted, which basically meant whatever they wanted to do as long as they stayed in the suite.

Back in their room, Amu stared up at the ceiling while Rima continued to watch her cartoons. "Do you think this mission will take long?" she asked.

"Probably not. I hope there's going to be action soon. I'm getting pretty bored of just walking and sitting around."

"I have a bad feeling it's going to get bloody really soon."

* * *

><p><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Bakayarou - Asshole, idiot, bastard**

**Yume - Dream**

**Ikuzo! - Let's go!**

**Nandemo nai! - Nothing!**

**Sumimasen - Excuse me**

****{_Edit 09.02.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	16. Eyes That Wept Tears of Blood

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara!****  
><strong>

**Chapter 15: Eyes That Wept Tears of Blood****  
><strong>

**{_Edit 09.09.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

* * *

><p>Her small button nose wrinkled as the smell of human food flooded her senses. Out of the corner of her eyes, Amu noticed Rima trying hard not to gag while Kukai ran out of the room and into one of the bathrooms. <em>Coward<em>.

"Enjoy." One of the staffs from the Inn had recently brought up a whole cart full of human delicacies, a complimentary breakfast for the guests who ordered the suite they happened to be staying in.

Ikuto slipped a few tips into the awaiting hand of the young man. As soon as the room was left with only the vampires and steaming hot plates of food, Ikuto rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt an upcoming migraine.

"Is he gone?" came a voice that had just exited one of the bathrooms. As soon as he said that, his nose wrinkled, the scent finally making its way up his nose. "Gross," Nagihiko murmured. He quickly towel-dried his dripping wet mane.

"I say we make the bakayarou eat it all," Rima stated bluntly and tugged on her sandals, followed by her shin guards. Nagihiko let out a laugh while a small snort-laugh emitted from Amu. Ikuto even gave his share of an amused smirked.

"You guys are so mean!" Kukai proclaimed as he walked out of the bathroom, covering his nose.

"We need to leave. Now. We don't have time to waste. Everyone just grab a plate and shove it down your throat. I don't care if it tastes like shit; we need to at least finish half of what they brought up or they'll be suspicious." Ikuto grabbed his own plate of hotcakes and lifted it up, discreetly sniffing the contents and wincing.

A groan emitted from Kukai's mouth as he shoveled down heaps of scrambled eggs. Nagihiko had his own bowl of cereal while Rima glared at her cup of yogurt like it had just called her a harlot. Amu herself had her hands full with a mushroom and cheese omlette. As she took her first swallow, she nearly threw up.

Because all five vampires hadn't had real food that didn't involve blood in so long, the taste had become foreign on their vampire tongues and stomachs. And to think Amu used to actually like omlettes when she was still human.

"I think I'm gonna hurl," Kukai moaned, turning a light shade of green.

* * *

><p>Kukai squinted his eyes as he glanced up at the bright sky. "Damn sun," he commented to himself as he tore his gaze away and turned to face Nagihiko. "I don't get why we can't just travel by the forest."<p>

His purple-haired companion shrugged and delicately slipped a lock of his elegant hair behind his ear. "Ikuto is traveling by forest and the girls are out asking people if they've seen any suspicious things lately."

"Then what the hell are we doing?" Kukai demanded.

Nagihiko shrugged. "Scouting the village? Besides, we should follow what Ikuto says if you don't want a claw stabbed through your heart," he replied wryly.

Kukai sighed and laced his hands behind his head as the two continued to trek down the pathway towards the entrance of the village. "And why the stupid yukata?" Kukai shouted angrily and tugged on the loose end of his forest green sleeve.

Nagihiko let out a small chuckle before answering, "Ikuto said we needed to blend in with the villagers." The thief glanced around, taking note of how empty the streets were. "Although we wouldn't really need to blend in with the village streets being deprived of people," he added softly.

* * *

><p>While jumping in midair, Ikuto grit his teeth and whipped out a throwing star. The star whizzed through the air and embedded itself onto a tree bark. Landing on another tree branch, the Vampire Prince tightened the buckles on his gloved claw.<p>

"Show yourself!" he barked out. His skilled eyes flickered around his surroundings. "If you don't come out, then I'm coming for you!" he threatened. Ikuto waited another three impatient seconds before he pushed off the balls of his feet and ran up the three in a blur.

He smirked as the sun up ahead gleamed down on a wire string. As much as he preferred the moon to the sun, he was glad it was still bright out, since the sun had informed him of the wired string instead of him having to use the all-seeing-evil-eye.

"Traps," he murmured to himself. "They're waiting for me to set one off before attacking."

The Tsukiyomi concealed himself behind the thickest part of the tree he was currently hiding in. He pulled out a piece of blank origami paper and bit his tongue with his sharp fangs, drawing out blood and mixing it with his venom. Using his index finger, he swiped the mixed saliva and wrote on the paper while spitting the rest of the mixed saliva out of his mouth. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he carelessly threw the paper onto the tree bark. Now in place of the paper was another Ikuto.

The fake Ikuto**(1) **nodded silently in confirmation and jumped down from the branch, purposely stepping on the wire on the way down. As expected, a barrage of different kinds of throwing weapons impaled it, followed by a dozen of arrows mixed with a rain of senbons. As "Ikuto" continued to helplessly fall down, a cold bomb hidden behind the foliage of trees set off and the puff of cold air froze whatever it engulfed and touched. A few unfortunate tips the forest trees and weapons nearby froze and broke into pieces.

The real Ikuto watched carefully as he noticed a shadow to his southeast jumped after the decoy.

"Stuuuuupid," Ikuto drawled to no one in particular and jumped after the shadow. "_Slash Claw_!" The shadow below him jerked her head up, her eyes widening visibly beneath the facemask that concealed only the upper-half of her identity to enemies. The purple cat claw sped towards her, but the mysterious vampire was able to dodge at the last second.

The vamp clung onto a tree, taking a defensive stance. Ikuto followed suit, but his stance wasn't as cautious. _'She's not a newborn. But I can't tell if she's a pure breed either,' _Ikuto noted mentally.

"Tch. So you're the stupid noob terrorizing the village?" Ikuto found himself taunting. His face showed a hint of boredom, but his eyes were shining maliciously, eager for a little action to happen. The vampire in front of him grinned, her sharp fangs peeking out from her full pink lips gleaming under the sunlight.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsukiyomi Ikuto-sama." Ikuto's eyes narrowed at the form of the honorific that was attached after his name.

"Who are you?"

"Just a servant working under her mistress. No one important really." The woman in front of him shrugged and bounced off her feet, running towards him in full speed. Ikuto's eyes widened as his eyes could barely match the speed she was "flying" at towards him. The blue-haired thief managed to side-step at the last minute, her fist missing his face by just a hair.

The vampire behind him was gone in a flash. He grit his teeth as he looked left, right, and down. _Up!_ He looked up to catch a glimpse of her shoe inches from his face. Ikuto faked left and grabbed onto her foot, swinging her three-sixty before throwing her to the side.

His enemy didn't waste any time as she pushed off the tree she landed on and pulled out a freshly sharpened dagger from the inside of her long sleeves. Ikuto used his own claw to counter the attack, causing a deadlock between the two weapons. The Tsukiyomi could feel himself sliding backwards. His wrist was shaking from trying to push the vampire in front of him away.

"Troubled?" she hissed and pushed harder, her other hand holding another dagger. She smirked sadistically and brought her face closer towards his.

_'She isn't sane,' _Ikuto realized as he saw the cinnamon eyes through the eyeholes flash dangerously. The woman in front of him suddenly broke the deadlock and lashed out, managing to swipe the blade across Ikuto's cheek and drawing blood. Ikuto back flipped away, grabbing his cheek and staring at the blood that bloomed from the cut.

"Don't let your guard down, Ikuto-sama." The voice rang in his ears, and he could feel the whipping wind rustling his clothes and hair as the sadistic vampire ran around him in circles. Her speed was amazing, seeing as Ikuto could barely detect where she was at.

He sucked in a breath as he felt a foot collide squarely on his jaw followed by a searing pain as his left shoulder received a deep slash right on his bone.

"Dammit!" he cursed loudly, clutching his left shoulder and bracing himself for other attacks. His jaw was throbbing, and he could feel a bruise developing. The pain in his shoulder burned immensely, and Ikuto could only assume that she had venom glazed over her weapons.

"I like it when people are in pain," the voice hissed, surprisingly close to his ear. Ikuto slashed around blindly with his claw but to no avail. She was gone faster than he could lift his hand.

"You fucker," Ikuto muttered mostly to himself.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" A short, mocking laugh filled the air, and Ikuto was annoyed (and terrified, although he would never admit that out loud) to find that her laugh actually sent shivers down his spine.

Closing his eyes, Ikuto drew in a breath and reopened them to reveal a new set of eyes.

"_Eye of the Eagle_!" His eyes narrowed and he was pleased to know that his eyesight was sharper than before. His surroundings became black and white as he tried to locate the vampire that radiated red energy.

"Well, well! I never thought I'd live to see Ikuto-sama resort to his famous _Eye of the Eagle_! How exciting!"

"God dammit! You make me sick!" Ikuto lashed out and swung out his left leg as he saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eyes, striking directly at the woman's stomach. The now vulnerable vamp let out a pained gasp as the steel part of his shoes hit directly at her liver, damaging it internally.

Taking this chance, Ikuto flew towards her and engaged in a series of punches and kicks as she desperately tried to block every hit. Scowling, Ikuto kicked her upwards into the sky. As she flew upwards in an arch, Ikuto jumped up after. When he reached the same height, he brought his elbow down onto her throat, the strong impact sending her spiraling downwards and hitting the ground. If the impact of her head hitting the ground didn't kill her, surely the blow to her throat would at least injure her severely or even possibly kill her.

As the dust lolled away, Ikuto narrowed his eyes and waited a few seconds before approaching the crater created from when the vampire fell onto the earth. To his surprise, there was no sign of the body anywhere in the crater.

"Surprise," a voice hissed out from behind. Ikuto sharply spun around and let out a strangled grunt as a hand forcefully curled around his throat. In front of the struggling Tsukiyomi was the vampire, the right side of her face mask cracked, revealing a crimson eye. Her eye flashed from cinnamon to crimson a few times until it settled on a blood red.

"Wh-what are you?" Ikuto growled out as he tried to pry her hands off his throat.

"Just a mere servant for one of your dear friends."

"Friend? I don't make friends with enemies!" he spat out.

"On the contrary, Ikuto-sama, Leader-sama happens to be a very good friend of yours!" She let out a loud cackle and squeezed harder, enjoying the way Ikuto gasped for breath through his burning lungs. "It's such a shame I'm not allowed to kill you; I actually like it when you're begging for your life!" She gave a mock frown, but her lips quickly twitched into a smirk as her free hand glowed a suspicious looking red.

Before Ikuto could react, she slammed the glowing palm to his dead heart. A searing pain spread through his body like fire spreading rapidly in a forest. He let out a bloodcurdling scream and squirmed under her hold. He was slowly losing his eyesight, and he knew it wasn't due to using _Eye of the Eagle_. It was getting harder to breath, and he was seeing dots in his vision. He let out another strangled scream when he felt the fire spreading inside of him.

The woman in front of him laughed at his misery and drew out a small hand-dagger, using it to scratch his porcelain cheek slowly. Blood bloomed over the wound, and her eyes flashed hungrily as her smirk widened. Licking her lips, her tongue flicked over the wound, tasting his blood. Ikuto gave her a disgusted look, but did nothing as he was paralyzed in pain and fear.

For once, Tsukiyomi Ikuto was afraid, and she knew it too.

Ikuto suddenly lashed out in agony and kicked out his left leg to her jaw, earning a sickening crack followed by a startled yelp from the vampire. He was immediately released, but before he could catch his breath or his balance, he lost footing and fell into the crater.

"Ikuto!" Ikuto's eyes slowly cracked open as he heard a faint voice call for him. His mouth parted open, but he couldn't utter a single sound. His throat was dry, he realized. He was parched. His head was gently lifted and placed onto a lap. "Ikuto," she breathed out again.

"I can't see," he murmured and waited impatiently for the black dots to stop dancing in front of his eyes. The pinkette gave him a soft smile and gently brushed some of his hair out of his eyes. As his vision cleared up, he blinked twice until he saw pink hair clearly.

"You're okay," she murmured. Amu did a quick analysis of his wounds. Other than a few cuts, the most distinct wound hat needed to be treated immediately besides his broken jaw was the broken ribs that threatened to pierce his lungs. However, because fixing his broken ribs was far superior to her skills and much too dangerous for a beginner like her to fix, she couldn't really do much but advise Ikuto to not move around much.

Amu's eyebrows furrowed as she also noticed something else was wrong. The blood circulating in his veins had stopped. He could die if the blood in his veins didn't start circulating within three hours. Her hand glowed lilac as she quickly mended his broken jaw. She mused at the fact that besides his bruised and broken jaw, his ego and pride was bruised as well thanks to the woman he had just lost to.

Sensing the slight panic in her honey eyes, Ikuto strained to ask what was wrong with him. _'At least he could talk, so that means his brain is functioning fine.'_

"We need to get you a real medic. I can only do so little since I only know basics," she explained to him calmly. "Kukai and Nagihiko are on their way. Rima's scouting the area right now, especially the area the vampire you were fighting with earlier. Ikuto, who is she?" Her eyebrows furrowed in concern as she withdrew her hand from his jaw. The swelling had gone down noticeably as well as the bruise.

"Hell if I know," Ikuto growled softly. Before Amu could open her mouth to respond, a panicked yell for their names pierced the air. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked up. The two vampires saw Rima on her knees, cursing profanities while one hand pressed down on a scarily large gash across her thigh.

"Rima!" Amu carefully maneuvered Ikuto's head on the ground carefully before standing up, unwrapping the obi that had strapped her heavy bow to the back of her waist. She slipped an arrow in the bow and was alert of her surroundings.

"Amu," a quiet voice called to her as she felt a shaky hand wrap around her ankle to call for her attention. Her eyes widened as she watched Ikuto use majority of his remaining energy to try to sit up. "She's dangerous."

Amu knelt down and gently pushed him back down. Her honey eyes hardened as she nodded stiffly to his warning before she jumped away, running towards Rima. As she approached Rima, Amu frantically asked her what happened.

"I-I-I don't know! S-she just appeared out of the corner of my eyes! S-she's... Fuck, Amu!" Rima blinked back tears as she watched Amu quickly rip off a strip from her kimono and tie it tightly around Rima's bleeding thigh. The roseate watched with worry as the white cloth was immediately soiled and dyed a dark red. Amu wanted to heal Rima, but she didn't want to waste any more energy than she already had by healing Ikuto.

"You're stuttering, Rima. Take a deep breath and calm down. I can't have you break down in front of me. I still need you." Honey eyes trained on Rima's own golden eyes. "You're okay." Rima slowly drew in deep breaths, trying to calm her hyperventilation. She gripped onto Amu's hand tightly, shuddering every once in a few seconds. Amu scowled. Was the vampire really that frightening to make even one of the most stubborn and tough vampires she knew hyperventilate?

"Amu! What's going on?" Rima asked frantically. Amu's eyebrows knitted together as she dropped her bow and held onto Rima.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can't see," she whimpered. Tears welled up in her doe-like eyes as she began to tremble.

"Illusion? R-rima, you're scaring me. Snap out of it! Release!" No matter how many times Amu tried to dispel whatever was placed on her friend, Rima wouldn't stop shivering.

"Shit," Amu cursed and watched as Rima slipped into unconscious. She tugged on her cotton candy hair slightly, thinking. Checking Rima's pulse, it calmed Amu to know that she was at least stable and only unconscious at the moment.

She picked up the blonde vampire and carefully brought her over to Ikuto. As soon as Rima was laid down next to him, his eyes slid open, cautious. When he registered the fact that it was his comrades and not an enemy, he relaxed slightly.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. She just... She said she couldn't see. And then she fell unconscious." Although her voice was calm, Ikuto noticed her clenched fists were shaking. "That vampire hurt my comrades – two of my most precious people. I'm going to end this. Now."

"Tch. I hurt two of your most precious people? Honey, I've killed way more people than I intend to. You're lucky I didn't bother to kill them." Amu whipped around, angry tears blurring her eyesight. Big fat tears threatened to spill, but Amu wouldn't allow it. She swiped at her eyes and snarled at the vampire in front of her. "You want to kill me? You're gonna need your bow then." She let out a gasp as she caught the bow thrown at her face.

"You're despicable," Amu spat. She got up nonetheless and aimed an arrow straight at the vampire's dead heart.

"Tch. Touchy, touchy," the vampire drawled back. She unsheathed two katanas from her back and held it up, the two swords gleaming under the sunlight.

"Amu!" Two voices called out from behind the pinkette. Said girl whirled around to find Kukai running towards her and Nagihiko nursing the two wounded vampires. As Kukai approached Amu, his emerald eyes hardened at their enemy.

"She's dangerous," Amu hissed. "She hurt Ikuto badly and did something to Rima."

"Then let's take her down," Kukai said coldly. His eyes bled from emerald green to ebony black as he activated his job-line limit. The vampire in front of them sighed.

"Two against one? That's no fun. But I don't intend to fight any of you; I just wanted to fight Ikuto-sama." She sheathed her katanas and rummaged through her hip-pouch. Pulling out a worn-out scroll that looked like it had seen better days, she held it up. "Leader-sama told me Ikuto-sama was out looking for this. Tell him that if he wants it, he will meet Leader-sama at the old church in Seiyo three weeks from now. He should come alone. If he fails to follow the rules, Leader-sama will declare war."

"War?" Kukai and Amu shouted.

"Wait, what the hell! What does war have anything to do with this? Just give us back the damn scroll!" Kukai snarled as he pulled out a small variety of throwing daggers.

The vampire merely shrugged at the brunette, unfazed by the sharp daggers in his hand. "I'm just following Leader-sama's rules. And I suggest you follow her rules as well if you don't want our clan declaring war on the Tsukiyomi's Clan. Although I'm sure the two females aren't part of your clan. They smell a bit peculiar than the usual smell emitting from the Tsukiyomi Clan." She wrinkled her nose before flashing Kukai and Amu a devious smile and disappearing behind a smoke bomb.

As the smoke lolled away, Amu finally let out a strangled sob. Kukai turned to find Amu shaking and trying to hold in her tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently. "D-don't cry!" If anything, Kukai hated it when girls cried.

"This is terrible!" Amu cried out, hiccupping. "Who is this woman and why does she hold such a grudge against Ikuto and the Tsukiyomi Clan?"

"O-oi. It's not as bad as it seems," Kukai said, trying to calm down the shuddering huntress.

"Not as bad? Kukai! They basically declared war!"

"They won't be declaring anything." Amu and Kukai whipped around to find Nagihiko supporting a limping Ikuto.

"Ikuto!" Amu ran up to his other side, grabbing his arm and draping it over her shoulder to support his weight. Nagihiko let go and ran to get Rima.

"This woman. She said that we can get the scroll back if I go to the old church and get it from her leader. I'll do it."

"It could be dangerous though, Tsukiyomi."

"That's why we're bringing Utau with us."

"Us? You mean we're coming with you? But didn't you hear? Her leader will declare war on our clan if you don't go alone." Nagihiko spoke softly as he shifted Rima's weight to get a better grip on her. Despite Rima being knocked out cold, her eyebrows furrowed like she was still in pain.

"I won't let that happen. As leader of the Tsukiyomi Clan, I will stop whatever threats come towards us. Besides, we're bringing Utau with us. And if I really know my sister, she'll tear apart whoever has the scroll. If Utau has her mind set on something, she'll do whatever it takes to get it back even if it kills her in the end." Despite his bruised face, Amu had to admit that with his eyes shining in determination and the devious smirk on his face, he was still as handsome as he was when they first met.

"If you say so, Tsukiyomi," Kukai mumbled. "C'mon. I wanna go home."

"Aa," Ikuto murmured. With the help of Amu, he was able to follow Kukai and Nagihiko. However, because he was still sore and pretty beat up, Amu and Ikuto had to walk in a slower pace than the other two.

Seeing the despair on Amu's face, Ikuto sighed. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone die. I promise."

Amu gulped and nodded, hoping he was right.

As Ikuto limped beside the roseate, his eyebrows furrowed. '_The old church. Souko, you're not causing trouble are you? Tch. Even in your dead state, your spirit would not be able to escape the Tsukiyomi cross you have succumbed to.'_

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><p><strong>(1)Blood and saliva = stronger <em>Origami Puppet<em>**

****{_Edit 09.09.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	17. Suteki Da Ne

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: Shugo Chara! and associated characters are not a property of mine. I also do not own the song _Suteki Da Ne _or _Utakata Hanabi_.****  
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**Chapter 16: Suteki Da Ne (Isn't It Beautiful?)****  
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**{_Edit 09.09.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

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><p>The fire crackled loudly as Amu mindlessly threw in another tree branch to keep the campfire going. The roseate drew her knees closer as she laid her elbow on her knee and her head on her open palm.<p>

"I don't get it," she murmured quietly. Her eyes caught the small flicker of Nagihiko's long hair. "What happened to Rima?"

Nagihiko could only shake his head in distraught. "She's not injured badly. I don't understand either. How could she just slip off like that by a measly thigh wound?"

"That vampire... her weapons were coated in venom, but the venom she used didn't look like it was that deadly. The venom was a tangerine orange, and if I remember correctly what Yaya told me, orange venom is only toxic enough to kill in three days."

Nagihiko nodded, following her words carefully. "It's only been twenty minutes since the vampire retreated."

"Twenty minutes too long. I'm thirsty. Where is Souma?" A soft growl from behind interrupted Amu and Nagihiko's hushed conversation.

"Right here, Tsukiyomi! But because you're such a cranky-pants, you only get one serving sip of blood!" Kukai let out a teasing bark of laughter as he emerged from the thick bushes. He had a few leaves tangled in his hair like he had a bit of trouble catching the pray, but he nonetheless dragged a limp deer by its broken neck towards the campfire.

Amu sat up and walked over to Ikuto, intending to change the bloody gauzes with fresh new ones before they began to snack on the deer blood. She quietly told him not to move as his ribs had not been set correctly back in place yet. He was still in danger of getting a pierced lung. Amu silently unwrapped the soiled gauze from his shoulder and began to rewrap his damaged shoulder with a new one.

"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly. Ikuto flicked his eyes from her lips to her eyes. He inwardly kicked himself for not realizing sooner that he had been staring at Amu's slightly bruised and swollen lip. How had she managed to get that?

"Nothing that I can't handle," he managed to speak at the last second before she could realize he was paying more attention to her lips than her question.

She didn't seem to notice.

"Well, I have a few White Pills to ease the pain if you need it. How about your energy reserves?"

"A little low," he admitted. Amu nodded, her eyes never leaving his shoulder as her fingers carefully and delicately danced around his shoulder over and over again until it was now fully wrapped. Ikuto had unconsciously closed his eyes when she had begun wrapping his wound. He noted with slight pleasure that even the most delicate ghost of a touch her fingers that had met his shoulder had sent shivers down his spine. Something soft prodded his lips, and he immediately snapped open his eyes.

"Eat it. It's a Blue Pill to help give you a tiny boost of energy. I can't give you a Soldier Pill because Nagihiko, Kukai, and I are going to need it on the trip back soon. And eating a Soldier Pill in your current state could be fatal with all your wounds and whatnot."

The apples of her cheek grew slightly scarlet as she watched Ikuto open his mouth. He was obviously waiting for Amu to feed him the pill that strikingly resembled a tiny onigiri if it weren't for its blue hue. Slowly placing a hand beneath Ikuto's head, she lifted him up just enough for him to chew the Blue Pill and swallow with ease. After the Tsukiyomi finished it, a voice called out for the two of them.

"Oi! If you two are done playing husband and wife, come hurry up at join us so we can drink already! I'm friggen thirsty!" Kukai's boisterous voice echoed through the forest while Nagihiko made sure to cover his laughter behind his hand.

Amu flushed deeply and slowly helped Ikuto stand up. Ikuto himself had a slight dust of pink on his cheeks, the pink contrasting with his pale skin complexion. He also noticed that Amu had refused to meet his eyes. He sighed.

As they drank in silence, Amu glanced at Rima every now and then, hoping for her to wake up and demand for things in her usual princess-y attitude. Kukai broke the silence.

"So what are we going to do? With Mashiro down and Tsukiyomi wounded badly, we're going to be weighed down. And you said that the poison will be deadly in three days, right?" Amu nodded, her eyes hooded. This mission wasn't going as well as she thought it would go. Their strongest was wounded and another was unconscious with no clues on what had happened to her.

"I think," Ikuto began, "what's best for now is to start traveling as soon as we finish up here. We only have three days to make it back home so we can properly treat Mashiro and get my ribs set back. We can't waste any more time here." Amu watched silently as he spoke. His eyes were trained on the crackling fire in front of him, the flames illuminating his pale face and creating a wonderful and warm glow, highlighting his beautiful features. Amu noticed that he seemed to be a little distracted, however.

Nagihiko sighed and set down his tin cup. "Ikuto's right. We need to start heading out now. The faster we get back home the safer it is. Amu-chan, do you still have the Warrior Pills?" Amu started, jumping out of her thoughts.

"Nn, yeah." She stood up and quickly rummaged through her bag, pulling out a small medicine box that contained exactly three warrior pills left. "I also have a few Blue Pills, White Pills, and Red Pills left over as well."

"Perfect. Then here's what we're going to do." Nagihiko stood up and began to voice his strategy to his comrades. "We'll leave camp as soon as we're done packing up and making sure our trail has been completely wiped off and erased so no enemies will be able to tell that we had been here. After cleaning up, Amu-chan will distribute the warrior pills to Kukai, me, and herself."

"What about me?" Ikuto questioned. Amu was surprised the vamp didn't ask in his usual haughty manner. It was almost like he respected Nagihiko as he strategized.

"Gomen, Ikuto, but I think it's best that Kukai is your support for the rest of the way home. We just don't have enough warrior pills for everyone, and you're wounded as well." Nagihiko gave his leader an apologetic smile.

"Wait, wouldn't it be better if we just had a summoning support Tsukiyomi? Not that I'm complaining about being the support, but I think it'd be more efficient and we'd be able to travel a lot faster." Kukai voiced out his thoughts.

"Are you saying that I'm going to weigh you down, Souma?" Ikuto glowered at Kukai, whose eyes grew wide. Kukai raised his hands in defense, shaking his head rapidly.

"Ah! What I meant was that, ummm. You know what I mean!" Kukai wailed, eyes wide.

"Just be quiet, Kukai. Please." Amu sighed and turned her attention back to the strategist. She could feel an upcoming migraine. "Go on," she urged him.

"Actually, Kukai might be on to something here. If we do actually summon a summoning, then we can travel faster. Ikuto summons ravens big enough to sit on, and I summon wolves. Kukai summons bears, and Amu-chan hasn't learned the technique yet, am I correct?" Nagihiko asked and Amu nodded. She felt kind of embarrassed and useless that she was the only one who hasn't learned how to summon origami summons.

"Aa, I understand where you're going with this." Ikuto smirked, blue eyes locking with amber eyes. "We can travel by air first, and then by the road. We travel by air first so if anyone trails us, we can hide in the clouds." Ikuto explained to Amu, already knowing what her question was going to be.

"Precisely. Then we can just go by Kukai's and my summons." Nagihiko smiled a confident smile.

"Okay, I get it now. Then let's get started now. I want to get back so we can treat Rima and Ikuto properly." The others nodded and began to pack up. Amu helped Ikuto stand up and bring him over to a tree, so that it could support his weight as of now while she collected her belongings.

"Here are the pills." Amu began to distribute the pills to Nagihiko and Kukai. The three of them swallowed their pill dry and continued to pack. As soon as Amu had kicked dirt onto the campfire, Ikuto pulled out three strips of origami paper and created three large ravens. Amu's lips twitched into a small frown as Ikuto began to breathe hard.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, carefully wrapping an arm around his waist to support him. Ikuto shook his head, jaw clenched tight.

"We need to move fast. I don't know how long my summons can last since I'm almost out of energy. And I don't want to keep eating Blue Pills. They're hazardous to my health if I eat too many in one night." Amu bit her lip, wanting to say something. "Come. They're ready for us." Ikuto interrupted her thoughts and beckoned for her to support him over to the birds.

"Kukai will go first. He has a long distance range, so if any enemies come from in front of us, Kukai can defend us and warn us about it. Rima-chan and I will go next. That way if any enemies managed to slip past Kukai, I will be able to defend Ikuto and Amu-chan or vice versa if enemies attack from behind. You two will go last, with the same motives as Kukai. Any questions? No? Good. Let's move." Nagihiko gently placed Rima on the raven before he jumped on himself. Kukai climbed onto the first raven while Amu helped Ikuto on top before her herself got on as well. It wasn't long until the birds began to pick up speed and height, soaring high over the forest, the breeze ruffling the vamps' clothing and hair.

"Nagihiko is something," Amu said softly. She knew Ikuto was listening to her. "He's great in coming up with strategy."

"Aa. He's Captain in our Strategist Department. He comes up with tactics and sets them out to win."

"That sounds exactly like Nagihiko." Her lips curved into a soft smile. Amu sighed softly and let out a small laugh under her breath.

"What?" Ikuto asked, quirking a brow. Despite his wounds, he was sprawled on his side, his left hand supporting the weight of his head. He seemed to be in a comfortable position. He reminded her of a…cat…

"Suteki da ne?" she whispered, her eyes sliding shut, the soft wind ruffling her pink hair. She smelled of strawberries and vanilla mixed together, Ikuto noted as the breeze picked up her scent and wafted towards him.

"The moon is so high up in the sky surrounded by tiny stars. And we're up so high that I feel like if I reach my hands out," Amu opened her eyes and lifted up her hand, "I can touch the starry night." Ikuto watched her silently, his breath caught in his throat. She was absolutely stunning in the dark, with only the full moon illuminating her face.

"Suteki da ne?" he repeated. His voice caught the attention of Amu, who turned around to look at him with curious eyes. "Being together all alone, walking hand in hand. And I want to go to your city, to your home, and into your arms." His eyes slid shut, his facial expressions peaceful. He heard Amu gasp.

"Ikuto…"

"You used to sing that to me all the time when you were still human."

"I'm... I'm sorry?" She asked, confused at what he said.

Ikuto slid one eye open to lazily look at her. "That was back then…Back when things were still okay."

"Amu," Ikuto began and sat up slowly, jaw clenched tightly, trying to hide his pain. He grabbed her hand, but she shied away from his touch, refusing to look him in the eye. "I'm still here though. You didn't lose everything."

The bowmaster opened her mouth to say something, but a sharp gasp emitted from her lips instead as she felt a flash of dizziness flood her mind.

_"We can't see each other anymore Ikuto."_

_"What? I just saved your life; how could you say that?"_

_"By turning me into one of you!" She snapped back. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth as she realized what she had just spat out._

_"I did it because it was the only choice I had left. Don't you dare turn things around and make me regret what I just did." He always had a short temper._

_"I've lost my family and my humanity. If I stay with you, I'll… I'll lose you too. I just know I will. Please, don't come see me anymore." She hugged herself, her shoulders shaking as she began to dry heave._

_"I won't leave you. You still have me. You didn't lose everything." He grabbed her hand, bringing her closer to him. He pulled up her sleeve to reveal the amulet she still wore. "As long as you have this, I'll be there for you. This will never break, no matter how hard you try. It'll symbolize our love for eternity."_

_"Please…stop," she begged through tears, but held onto his shirt tightly, never wanting to let go._

Ikuto watched as Amu came to her senses. Her eyes fluttered open, and he admired the pale-pink eyelashes that brushed the apples of her cheekbones so delicately. He drank in her diluted honey eyes and her quivering lips.

"The past was the past, but it still doesn't change anything," he muttered under his breath. He reached for her hand again, and this time she didn't pull away. Instead, she entwined their fingers together. Everything felt so natural to Amu as she stared at their twined hands.

Ikuto merely smiled at the contact. He pulled her closer to him, slowly pulling up her sleeve to reveal the pink amulet, glowing feverishly against her pale skin. Ikuto's eyes flickered to Amu, watching her and never breaking contact as he leaned down and slowly brushed his lips against her smooth skin, planting a chaste kiss on her wrist. "Do you believe me?" he asked.

Amu stared at their intertwined hands. She didn't say anything, and instead licked her dry lips and swallowed thickly. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, she nodded slowly. His hand caressed her cheek, his fingers dancing down her neck and onto her shoulder, then the small of her back.

Ikuto gently pushed her shoulder, and Amu let gravity pull her backwards. Ikuto watched, his eyes blazing with emotions as Amu's back hit his bird's feathers, her pink hair splaying around her innocently.

When Ikuto leaned down and captured her lips, Amu stopped breathing.

Her eyes slid shut, and automatically, silent tears dripped down her cheeks and onto the raven's back.

_"With a sweet sigh, I feverishly fell in love with you – that voice, those eyes."_

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><p><strong>I definitely recommend checking out the song <em>Suteki Da<em> Ne, covered by a wonderful singer on YouTube known as Amanda Lee or LeeandLie. The song is absolutely gorgeous and I suppose you can tell where I've gotten the song lyrics from. The last line of the chapter is a song lyric from the song _Utakata Hanabi, _which is also a wonderful song.  
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**Terminology:**

**Suteki da ne- Isn't it beautiful?**

****{_Edit 09.09.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }****


	18. Safe and Sound

**Title: Blood Lust**

**Author: CryingInsideOut**

**Summary: After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.**

**Disclaimer: Shugo Chara! and associated characters are not a property of mine. I also do not own the song _Suteki Da Ne _or _Utakata Hanabi_.****  
><strong>

**Chapter 17: Safe and Sound****  
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**{_Edit 09.25.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**

"_Just close your eyes; the sun is going down. You'll be alright; no one can hurt you now. Come morning light; you and I will be safe and sound."_

* * *

><p>A frustrated blonde ground her teeth together as the door to her bedroom banged open. "Utau-himesama!"<p>

"Don't you knock?" Her left eye twitched with annoyance as she looked up from a medical file she had been reading.

"Gomenasai, Utau-himesama!" The vampire quickly bowed, then stood back upright, adjusting his spectacles. "The medical unit just received news that Tsukiyomi Ikuto and his team has arrived at the hospital."

Utau's breath hitched in her throat. She quickly tossed the file away she had been reading and stood up, ready to flash to the hospital. "What's their condition?" she asked breathlessly.

"Bad, I'm afraid, but not necessarily fatal. Mashiro-san seems to be unconscious and Tsukiyomi-san, however, is wounded quite badly."

"You just told me that their damages weren't fatal!"

"I meant to say that Tsukiyomi-san is wounded badly, but not badly! I mean – !"

"Make up your mind!" Utau roared. She was getting tired of listening to this vampire mumble and trip about his words.

"Tsukiyomi-san has broken ribs and hurt his shoulder! Please don't hurt me!" The vampire cowered in front of Utau, mentally preparing himself to be either torn in half or thrown out the window.

"Tsk. What about the others?" Utau barked.

"T-the rest seem to be s-s-safe from any major wounds, but they are definitely energy deprived."

"Tch. Arigatou." With that, the Hoshina Princess disappeared in a swirl of butterflies. Unbeknownst to Utau, the vampire let out the breath he had been holding in. It definitely wasn't fun to inform the Hoshina Clan leader bad news. Especially with a hot-headed blonde as your boss who seemed ready to rip off your head at any moment.

* * *

><p>"Move!" Utau snarled as she pushed past vamps in the busy hospital lobby. News usually traveled fast between vampires, so almost everyone knew who was at the hospital right at this moment. Other than vamps from her own clan, there were also plenty of the Tsukiyomi vamps demanding to know what was happening to their leader.<p>

"OI! This is a damn hospital, which means no loitering! If someone dies just because y'all wouldn't move and they couldn't bring the patient into the surgery ward, Utau is going to bite you in the ass!" A sweet yet strong voice drawled, earning the attention of everyone. There was a chorus of murmurs and everyone eventually dispersed aside like the Red Sea, leaving Utau standing in the middle of the hallway and staring right into the eyes of a seductive nymph.

The girl in front of her blinked, her mascara coated eyelashes delicately giving off an innocent look. But Utau knew better, because looks can be deceiving. And she absolutely knew that this girl was a deceiving little vampire.

"What are you doing here?" she growled under her breath. Utau's fists (she hadn't even realized when she had clenched them into fists) were shaking as she suppressed herself from throwing a punch at the girl with the stupid coy smile on her face. The same coy smile she had worn ever since she had been introduced to the family as Ikuto's future wife and the future heiress to the Tsukiyomi Clan.

"Here to see Ikuto of course. Oh my. How you're grown, Utau." Ai giggled delicately as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

_The nerve of that girl_, Utau thought. She hadn't even bothered to add an honorific to the end of her name. She was a clan leader for Kami's sake! She deserved to have an honorific added to the end of her name! Who does she think she is?

"Oh, I've grown alright," Utau huffed and took a step forward, never allowing herself to take her eyes off of Ai. "Looks like you aged. Not as pretty as you were when we first met."

Ai's eyes narrowed. "We don't age physically, dear Utau-chan."

"Urusai," Utau muttered and boldly walked up to the slightly taller girl. As she passed Ai, she made sure to brush her shoulder against hers. "This is _my _hospital. I want all of you out. If you do not leave within the next ten seconds, you will have to deal with my clan members. And also me if you do not leave within the next fifteen seconds." Utau spoke slow and low, sending chills down everyone's spine. Within the next three seconds, the hallways were cleared except for the nurses, Utau, and Ai. Ai wrinkled her nose at the demand and fluffed her hair before disappearing as well.

* * *

><p>"Stats." Utau took control as she slipped on her white lab coat over her outfit. She grabbed the clipboard a nurse had handed out to her and scanned Ikuto's medical file. "Aiko, stats!" she repeated when no one answered her. She didn't have time to read every single detail written on the file; she wanted a fast summary, and she wanted it now.<p>

"Broken ribs and a punctured shoulder, but I fixed them both already; he'll be sore when he wakes up though. But the most distinct wound would be the messed up blood circulation, Boss." Aiko, a lavender haired woman with piercing grey eyes looked up from her own copy of Ikuto's medical file and stared at Utau, waiting for her next instruction.

There was a light scowl on Utau's face as she approached Ikuto who was slipping in and out of consciousness. "Ikuto. Can you hear me?"

Her brother stared up at her through bleak eyes. "Fucking shit. It's too bright," he groaned and shut his eyes tightly.

"Turn off the lights and close the curtains!" Utau called out, and two nurses immediately drew the curtains closed and flickered off the lights. Near the small counter filled with medical supplies, Aiko sucked in a breath and grabbed a yellow highlighter, highlighting phrases. She slammed the highlighter down and walked towards Utau.

"Boss, take a look at this." Utau removed her hand from Ikuto's forehead and stared at the medical file shoved underneath her nose. "According to what Hinamori told one of the nurses, Tsukiyomi's blood circulation has been cut off for about two and a half hours now."

"Was that how long it took for them to come back to the hospital?"

"Correct. But when I delved further into Tsukiyomi's case earlier when you weren't here yet, I found out that something must've happened to his heart to cause the blood circulation to stop."

"How long do we have until this will kill him?"

"An hour and a half tops."

"What!? Aiko, tell me what you know!" Utau scowled and tugged on her two pigtails. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly panicking. Out of all the patients she had ever had who were on the verge of dying within ten seconds, she had never panicked. But when it came to Ikuto, she was suddenly scared.

"Don't look at me, Boss! You're the one in charge and the one with the most medical skills." Aiko sighed and pushed her black rimmed glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose.

"I'm freaking out, Aiko! There's so much to do in so little time – I can't manage everything here! God dammit! Ikuto is here possibly dying and I have no idea what to do! And Rima! She's like freaking unconscious and I don't have time to worry about her because I'm too god damn busy worrying about my own brother, for Kami's sake!"

"Utau! Calm down!" There was a loud smack before silence took over the room except for the steady beeps that came from Ikuto's heart machine. Utau's bottom lip quivered as she gently cupped her right cheek where Aiko had smacked her. "Look, everything will be okay. Take a deep breath and think back to when you were studying medicine and medical techniques."

Utau took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Blood circulation. The topic seemed vaguely familiar, but where and when had she read something about that? Where? When? Then it hit her. A small gasp escaped her mouth as her eyes snapped open.

"The medical file!" Her sudden scream earned a surprised flinch from Aiko. "I was reading a medical file just earlier on blood circulation! It's in my room somewhere! Oh, Kami! Aiko! I need to go get the scroll! Watch Ikuto for me! I'll be back in a few minutes."

Aiko watched as her boss fluttered around the room in a panicked and hurried state. As Utau finally got a grip on her senses, she disappeared in a flurry of butterflies. Aiko sighed and sluggishly approached the Tsukiyomi.

"Oiiiiii. Can you hear me?" Aiko pushed her glasses higher and stared at the teen who struggled to stay awake. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

No response. Just more groans that sounded like he was in pain.

Aiko sighed once more and sat down on a chair beside the bed. She rolled up her lab coat sleeves and focused her energy onto her hands which then glowed lilac. She placed her hands above Ikuto's chest, scanning the insides with the energy emitting from her palms. His blood circulation was still corrupted, it seemed. But there was nothing Aiko could do. Even as one of the top medics besides Utau, she honestly didn't know how to solve this problem.

"Troublesome."

* * *

><p>"Got it!"<p>

Aiko turned around and found a grinning Utau standing in the middle of the room. In her hand was an old medical scroll. "How is he?" The blonde asked as she unraveled the scroll and began to hurriedly scan the details.

"He threw up blood two times and he hasn't stopped shivering and he still seems like he's in pain even though I gave him morphine."

"How many doses?" Utau's eyebrows furrowed as she rolled up the scroll and placed it on the counter nearby.

"Three so far. Should I give him another dose?"

"No; three is good as of now. I don't want him to get addicted to it later on. Let me take a closer look. I think I know what the problem is. In the scroll, it says that blood circulation can be caused by some weird technique used on a vampire's heart. This technique is _Heart Unlock_, and it's supposedly an illegal technique."

"Was there anything written that can help dispel this technique? Or anything that can possibly save Tsukiyomi?"

"_Open Heart _is what it's called I think."

"Sounds girly, don't you think?"

"…Shut up and give me your hand." Aiko smirked but gave her hand to Utau nonetheless. Utau then walked to the other side of Ikuto's bed and placed her hands in front of Aiko's hands, both of their palms touching. "Close your eyes and concentrate on placing equal amounts of energy into both of your palms. Then repeat after me."

"Roger, Boss." As Aiko slid her eyes closed, Utau took a deep breath and closed her eyes as well. The hum of energy could be heard as bright lights of energy flared from the two medic's palms.

"_Negative heart,"_

"_Negative heart,"_

"_Lock on!"_

"…_Lock on..?."_

"_Open Heart!"_

"_Open Heart!"_

A blinding flash of light enveloped the entire room, earning a surprised squeak from Utau as the two girls broke contact with each other and ducked for cover on the floor. When the light faded away, it was dead silent.

"Is it over?" Aiko asked. She felt kind of lightheaded.

"Y-yeah." Utau stuttered and slowly stood up. Shaking away the dizziness, Utau once again concentrated hard and used her energy to scan Ikuto. Her violet eyes widened as a smile broke out on her face. "It worked! His blood circulation is back to normal!"

"Good job, Boss!" Aiko smirked and pushed her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose.

* * *

><p>"How is she?" Utau asked as she opened the door to Rima's room. Utau let out a squeak as a blur of orange pounced on the medic.<p>

"Utau-tan! What happened to Rima-tan?" Yaya sobbed as she clung to Utau desperately like a little kid. No matter how hard Utau tried to rip Yaya off of her, the small vamp wouldn't let go.

"Yaya, let go! I'm here to save Rima, but I can't do that if you cling onto me like that!" Utau muttered through clenched teeth. With that said, Yaya quickly untangled herself from the Hoshina Princess.

"She's stable, but we are almost certain that she is in a coma," a nurse offered to answer Utau. Utau nodded and walked up to the unconscious girl.

"Do we have any information on how this has happened? Or per say, what has happened?"

"It was a thigh wound with a small amount of venom. But the venom was removed right when Mashiro-san was stabilized and carried into the ER."

"All the venom has been sucked out?"

"Correct, Utau-sama."

"What color was the venom?"

"A tangerine orange."

Utau's eyebrows furrowed. "Orange venom isn't dangerous enough to make someone slip into a coma. Do you still have the venom?"

"Hai. We saved it for you just in case you wanted to examine it."

"Perfect. Yaya, go grab a lab coat. We're taking your medical training one step further today." Utau's lips slowly spread to a smirk. "Meet me in the microscopy lab. We'll be examining the venom today."

"Roger!"

* * *

><p><span><strong>Terminology:<strong>

**Urusai - Shut up**

**Techniques:**

**Heart Unlock - Forbidden technique. It's an ancient technique that not many vampires know about. It's also illegal to use as it is deadly. Not much is really known about this technique except that when used, it causes the blood in your veins to stop flowing, thus causing death if not reversed as soon as possible.**

**Open Heart - The counter technique to the forbidden technique _Open Heart_. Just like it's counter, not much is known about this ancient technique. One must say "_Negative heart, lock on. Open Heart."_ to dispel _Heart Unlock_._  
><em>**

**{_Edit 09.25.14:_ It's been 109324802384 years. Rewatched a few eps of SC!, and am ready to finish the story. But first things first: gotta rewrite/revise all these crappy chapters bc there's like friggen plot holes and I am NOT satisfied. Please be patient bc currently fixing all the chapters. Some things might be different, but hopefully it won't affect the story too much. Thank you so much for being patient, encouraging, and super supportive. Love you. (: }**


	19. Forgiveness and Love

**Title:** Blood Lust

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Summary:** After three months of fuzzy memories and getting used to her vampire senses, Amu finds comfort within the Hoshina vampire clan. As she tries to piece together her previous mundane memories, war is coming, but the Hoshina clan will have little survival without help from the enemy Tsukiyomi vampire clan. Relationships will be made and waters will be tested as war looms ahead.

**Disclaimer:** Shugo Chara! and associated characters are not a property of mine.

**Chapter 18: **Forgiveness and Love

BAM! _WHAT?_

A new chapter after 19383294723984 years?! I revised ALL the other chapters so everything makes sense now. Oh, and also, I advise everyone to re-read the chapters (or at least skim through them) because some things have been. Characters now have a backstory. Plot holes have been fixed. Important details have been added and are crucial to be reviewed before continuing this story. I shall now add a TL;DR in case no one reads this mess of words.

**TL;DR (TOO LONG; DIDN'T READ):**

**Y'ALL NEED TO RE-READ (SKIM THROUGH) THIS STORY AGAIN OR ELSE YA'LL GONNA BE LIKE "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. I DON'T REMEMBER THIS SHIT/WHEN DID THIS SHIT HAPPEN." DO IT. **

(pretty please. i don't want you to be hella confused.)

* * *

><p>"So how was it?"<p>

Pale-pink eyelashes flutter as honey eyes try to refocus on the blurry surroundings.

"Mm… nani?" Amu mumbled sleepily. She reached both arms up above her head, stretching out her back. "How was what?" she asked as she slowly sat up, finally recognizing where she was.

Currently, the bowmaster was sitting on the dirty tile floor of an abandoned church. It was relatively dark, except for the streams of light that leaked through the cracks of the boarded up church windows. The ground was dusty and grimy, and Amu winced as she realized she was still sitting on the disgusting floor. She quickly stood up and brushed herself off, opting to sit on a slightly cleaner bench instead.

"The kiss, you silly girl."

"Oh!" Amu's cheeks flushed feverishly as the memory flashed in her mind. "How did you know?" she squeaked, embarrassed that someone other than her had known about the kiss between her and Ikuto.

"How can I not when that's all that's been replaying in your dreams over and over again?" A soft, twinkling laughter echoed throughout the empty church.

"I've been so tired lately, so I must've been caught off guard." Amu gave a similar laugh herself as she slightly shook her head. She grinned sheepishly at the woman that sat on the lone throne at the front of the church.

Every time Amu had seen the woman, she swore that the woman grew even more beautiful each time. Today, the woman had her long hair in a loose side braid with small pieces of hair framing her delicate face. A warm smile was on her face that seemed to brighten the gloomy setting. As she stood up, the white chiffon dress embroidered with pale-pink ribbons flowed to the ground and trailed after her as she made her way towards the roseate.

"Well, you have been through a lot lately, Amu-chan."

Amu stood up to greet the woman halfway. She embraced the woman in a friendly and polite hug before pulling back.

"Un.. I guess you can say that I have, Souko-san."

"Look at you, you poor dear. You're unnaturally paler than usual and your eye circles are so dark. What have you done to yourself?" Souko sighed and affectionately caressed Amu's cheek with her palm, a small frown adorning her flawless face.

"It's been kind of rough," Amu admitted. "Ano, Souko-san? Do you think maybe we can go somewhere else? I have some things I want to tell you, and I don't exactly feel comfortable talking in here." Amu nervously bit her lip.

"Of course. Where are my manners?" Souko grinned, and within the next second that Amu blinked, they had relocated.

The two woman were now in a grassy field, the sun bright and sunny and the light blue sky cloudless. They both sat down and made themselves comfortable. Amu even laid down on the grassy hill.

"So what's going on with that boy of mine?" Souko asked. She closed her eyes and basked peacefully under the warm sun.

"Well, where do I even begin? It's been quite a few days since you last visited me. I was quite surprised you reached out to me again, to be honest." Amu giggled quietly, remembering the first time Souko had ever appeared in her dreams while she was sleeping.

To keep things short, Amu had been so startled and confused when Souko first visited her in her dreams. Amu remembered Souko began appearing when she started getting migraines quite frequently.

When the pretty blonde had first appeared, she had told Amu that the migraines she kept experiencing was because her memories were to slowly come back to her.

_"__My memories? You mean from when I was still human?" Amu asked excitedly. She was so desperate to remember everything from when she was a mundane. _

_"__Hai. There was a very powerful vampire who purposely blocked off your memories when you turned into a vampire." _

_"__Why did the vampire do that though?" Amu asked, confused. The blonde smiled softly, affectionately cupping Amu's cheek in her hand for the first time. _

_"__He did it to protect you. Don't be mad at him, for he cared for you deeply."_

_"__He?" Amu asked, genuinely confused. She tried to remember back to before she woke up as a newborn to no avail; everything was too fuzzy no matter how hard she tried to remember._

_"__Hai. Oh how rude of me. I never introduced myself. Hajimemashite; watashi wa Souko. Yoroshiku."_

_"__Oh, watashi wa –"_

_"__Iie. I know who you are, Amu-chan." _

_"__But I've never met you before..?" Amu's eyes widened slightly, earning an amused laugh from Souko._

_"__I know you through someone who was very important to me, so I have a vague acknowledgement of who you are."_

_"__Oh… Then… Are you here to help me regain my memories, Souko-san?"_

_"__I suppose you can say it that way. I used to be a guardian angel to someone, but I got curious and decided to switch over to you. I'm here to teach you some important things and to also tell you my story. I can also help you to counter the memory block that's in your mind. You should get comfortable, because I'll be visiting quite often. I hope you don't mind, Amu-chan."_

"I'm going to just throw this out, but I assume something big must've happened during your mission." Souko crossed her legs and untied her braid. As she worked her fingers through her hair, Amu admired the texture of Souko's hair and how it seemed to easily respond obediently to the slight breeze.

"Definitely big," Amu mumbled. She took a deep breath before continuing. "There's this vampire. No one knows who she is. She just attacks Ikuto out of nowhere. A-and she's stronger than Ikuto. I know, crazy right?"

"I think I have a faint idea what happened next and who we're talking about." Souko sighed as she played with her hair tie. "Poor Ikuto-kun. Not only was his pride hurt, but so was he." She let out a bitter laugh.

"He was hurt. He almost died," Amu managed to say. Her throat had closed up as she remembered the scene of Ikuto lying in the ditch.

"But he's alive nonetheless," Souko finished for her. "All thanks to Utau-chan. I always knew she would do well in the medical field." Souko grinned, her cheeks flushing with happiness and pride for her daughter's accomplishment.

"Hai. Utau sure is something else. It's no surprise she's amazing, as a clan leader and a medic."

"Hai, hai. Enough with the depressing details. So that kiss?" Souko laughed teasingly as the roseate flushed deeply.

"I-it was just a small kiss, Souko-san!"

"Finally, my boy is letting you back in. It's about time!"

"S-souko-san!" Amu screeched, covering her face with her hands. Souko laughed delicately.

"You're doing well, Amu-chan," Souko said suddenly. Amu peeked at the older woman through her fingers. "Your memories are slowly coming back, are they not?"

"Un. They are. I'm glad they are. I can't believe I ever forgot about Ikuto," Amu mumbled more to herself.

"Well, it's not your fault that you did, dear. But you do forgive him, don't you?" Souko removed Amu's hands from her face before brushing back the pink locks. "He did it to –"

"– to protect me. I know. And I love him for that," Amu said. Her lips curled into a soft smile. "He did everything for me because he loved me. I know now; I remember. He used to take me out all the time when we were dating. He showered me with so many gifts. He taught me self-defense because he knew what was going to happen. Ikuto knew that his clan did not approve of our human-vampire relationship, but he didn't care; he loved me too much and refused to leave me even when his leader threatened him. He promised to protect me and love me forever. And he kept his promise even when I pushed him away and forgot about him.

"He wiped my memories because I told him I never wanted to see him again and that I hated him. He did it so I wouldn't have to continue living forever while having to suffer through all the pain I've been through. I understand everything now. He continued to watch over me silently even when I forgot about him. He did everything for me, and he continued to love me even though I had no memory of the past." Amu sighed and shook her head with despair. She tried her best to keep the tears in, but some escaped and found their way down her cheeks.

"Oh, Amu-chan." Souko sighed and wiped the tears from her son's lover.

"How could I do that to him? How could I push him away like that? How could he live knowing that he would lose the one he loved the most?" Amu hiccuped, tears sliding down her face endlessly now. She hugged herself and tried to keep herself from shaking.

"I know, sweetheart. But the only reason Ikuto continued to thrive and live was because he knew you were alive. He knew that erasing your memories was going to be a huge sacrifice and loss for him, but he did it anyways. He knew that as long as you were able to wake up each day, healthy and alive, it was good enough for him." Souko gently hugged the bowmaster. "Even if it meant having to live everyday without you, he doesn't regret turning you and placing the memory block in your mind. I think he also thought that you forgetting him would be punishment enough to him for all the suffering he's brought to you."

"You know I was so scared? I was so scared when I saw Ikuto lying there on the ground. I didn't know why, but I was so afraid that Ikuto was going to die right then and there." Amu sniffled. "I forgot about _Kieseki. _I blanked out. I should've used it on him. That would've at least saved him some pain." Amu mumbled.

"Did you forget what I told you?" Souko asked, quietly. "When I taught the skill to you, did you forget what I told you?"

"Oh, yeah. That's right... _Kieseki_ shouldn't be used on anyone other than the user, because if used on someone other than the host themselves, a life is taken in exchange to save someone else. I'm such a hot mess right now." Amu laughed bitterly.

"_Kieseki_… It can be considered a forbidden technique. Just remember that," Souko mumbled.

For the next few minutes, the two woman sat there quietly, thoughts running through their minds.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Amu said suddenly. She stopped plucking the petals off the flower that was in her hand. She let the breeze flutter the petals away. "There was something important I wanted to tell you."

"Hai. Douzo hanashi wo tsuzukete kudasai_*_."

"The vampire who attacked Ikuto. She works for someone who seems very powerful. Her leader has the scroll Utau is looking for, and she told Ikuto that if they wanted to recollect the scroll, Ikuto should meet with her at the old church in Seiyo."

"Ah. Of course. I had a feeling something big was going to happen soon. I've been getting weird auras lately at the church. Amu-chan, you can't let Ikuto-kun go alone," Souko said sternly.

"Aa. Ikuto said that he was going to bring Utau with him along with Kukai, Nagihiko, Rima, and me. But I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"Doushite?"

"Well, the vamp threatened that if he didn't come alone, war would break out. And I'm not so sure the five of us will do so well. If only one vamp was able to take down Ikuto by herself, what's going to happen when they have reinforcements?"

"You have to tell Ikuto-kun and Utau-chan to bring reinforcements themselves. Something big is going to happen, Amu-chan. It would be safer and wiser to bring back up. The five of you are strong, but the auras I have been feeling are definitely stronger. But no need to fret; I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well."

"I'll be sure to let them know. I hope Ikuto and Rima both get well soon."

"Has she woken up yet?"

"Hai. She's awake and grumpy already," Amu laughed. "I'm really glad Utau and Yaya were able to study the poison so fast and find an antidote for her. Now all we have to do is wait for Ikuto and Rima to get back on their feet so we can prepare for when worst comes to worst."

"Ganbatte ne, Amu-chan." Souko smiled at the younger girl. She was glad that Amu had been the one her son had fallen in love with. She always knew that the other girl Kazuomi had introduced to their family would be nothing more but close friends with Ikuto.

"Arigatou, Souko-san."

"Yare, yare! It's probably getting late, and I have a feeling you wish to visit your friends."

"Oh, I didn't realize that time has passed by so quickly." Amu stood up, Souko following suit. The two woman embraced each other in a friendly hug.

"I'll visit you sooner this time, Amu-chan."

"Un! I'll be looking forward to your visits, Souko-san." Amu grinned and waved goodbye. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, ready to wake up.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at the bland white wall of Ikuto's hospital room. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, sitting up straight in the plastic chair she had fallen asleep in.

"Ohayou."

Amu smiled at the familiar voice she had fallen in love with years ago.

"Ohayou, Ikuto." Her eyes watered at the sight of the young man lying in the hospital bed. She bent down and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, her lips lingering.

"Okaasan. Did she visit you?" he mumbled, sleep still evident in his voice and eyes. Amu's eyes widened slightly at his question; she had no idea Ikuto knew about his mother's visits while she dreamt.

"Hai. How did you know?" Amu asked, grabbing his hand gently.

"Hn. Who do you think was the one who sent her to you? You needed a guardian angel more than I did. I've found my peace and forgiven myself as well as her, so I decided it was time to start a new chapter in life. I realized it was time you knew the truth of everything. Of your past, of my past, and the purpose of everything." Ikuto ran his thumb once across her knuckles.

"Your mother… she's wonderful. And so are you," Amu whispered, squeezing his hand.

"Aa."

_'__Arigatou, okaasan… Watashi wa anata wo yurushi masu__...'_

_'__Arigatou ne, Ikuto-kun.'_

* * *

><p>A new chapter after 19383294723984 years?! I revised ALL the other chapters so everything makes sense now. Oh, and also, I advise everyone to re-read the chapters (or at least skim through them) because some things have been. Characters now have a backstory. Plot holes have been fixed. Important details have been added and are crucial to be reviewed before continuing this story. I shall now add a TL;DR in case no one reads this mess of words.<p>

**TL;DR (TOO LONG; DIDN'T READ):**

**Y'ALL NEED TO RE-READ (SKIM THROUGH) THIS STORY AGAIN OR ELSE YA'LL GONNA BE LIKE "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. I DON'T REMEMBER THIS SHIT/WHEN DID THIS SHIT HAPPEN." DO IT.**

(pretty please. i don't want you to be hella confused.)

**Terminology:**

Nani - What

Hajimemashite; watashi wa Souko. Yoroshiku. - How do you do? My name is Souko. It's nice to meet you.

Douzo hanashi wo tsuzukete kudasai_* - _Go ahead with your story. (I could be wrong about the kanji. I'm not quite sure.)

Doushite? - Why?/How come?

Ganbatte ne - Good luck/Try your best

Yare, yare - Oh my/My, my

Ohayou - Good morning/Morning

Arigatou, okaasan… Watashi wa anata wo yurushi masu - Thank you, mother. I forgive you.

**Skill review:**

Kieseki - Miracle. Bowmaster job-line limit. _Kieseki_ uses your last remaining energy so it can save you from actually getting killed. Basically what it does is it no matter how deadly the attack is, you'll still be able to survive. After using the skill, it uses the last bit of your energy which is also quite dangerous since you can die from being energy deprived. _Kieseki_ shouldn't be used on anyone other than the user, because if used on someone other than the host themselves, a life is taken in exchange to save someone else. It can be considered a forbidden technique.


End file.
